Researchers present new approach to identify key regulatory factors in wheat ear development

Wheat, a globally important food crop, derives its yield from factors such as number of ears per unit area, thousand grain weight and grain yield per ear. Ear shape directly affects spikelet number, grain yield and overall wheat productivity. The discovery of key regulators of wheat ear development and the study of their molecular mechanisms hold great promise for precision breeding and molecular improvement of ear morphology.

In a study published in Molecular plant, researchers led by Xiao Jun from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) presented an innovative approach. By integrating multidimensional omics, population genetics, and gene function analysis, researchers described a systematic and efficient strategy to identify key regulatory factors in wheat head development.

Through comprehensive sequencing of wheat ear transcriptomes, chromatin accessibility and histone modifications at key stages of development, they delineated the dynamic transcriptional and epigenetic landscape of wheat ear maturation, leading to the construction of a transcriptional regulatory network (TRN).

By merging multidimensional omics with population genetics, researchers identified 227 putative regulatory factors influencing ear development, 42 of which have previously been implicated in ear formation in wheat or rice.

Phenotypic screening of 61 novel genes using the KN9204 mutant library revealed 36 mutations, including TaMYC2-A1, TaMYB30-A1, and TaWRKY37-A1, altering flowering time or tip morphology. Functional characterization of TaMYB30-A1 highlighted the effectiveness of TRN in deciphering gene functionality and its practical utility in wheat breeding initiatives.

At the same time, a comprehensive multiomics database for wheat ear development, known as WSMOD, was launched. This platform provides researchers with convenient “all-in-one” access to various services, including gene information retrieval, co-expression analysis, TRN prediction, epigenetic map plotting and mutant library search functions.

In summary, this study elucidates the dynamic transformations that occur during wheat ear development, which are shaped by both gene transcription and epigenetic regulation. It integrates multidimensional data, including transcriptomics, epigenomics and population genetics, to unravel these processes. The construction of a NRT specific to wheat ear development represents a systematic, efficient and precise strategy to identify key regulatory factors.