The dynamic transcriptome of waxy maize (Zea maysL.sinensis Kulesh) during seed development

Background Waxy maize (Zea maysL.sinensis Kulesh) is a mutant of maize (Zea maysL.) with a mutation atWaxy1(Wx1) gene locus. The seed of waxy maize has higher viscosity compared to regular maize. By now, we know little about the expression patterns of genes that involved in the seed development of waxy maize. Objective By analyzing the transcriptome data during waxy maize seed development, we attempt to dig out the genes that may influence the seed development of waxy maize. Methods The seeds of waxy maize inbred line SWL01 from six phases after pollination were used to do RNA-seq. Bioinformatics methods were used to analyze the expression patterns of the expressed genes, to identify the genes involved in waxy maize seed development. Results A total of 24,546 genes including 1611 transcription factors (TFs) were detected during waxy maize seed development. Coexpression analysis of expressed genes revealed the dynamic processes of waxy maize seed development. Particularly, 2457 genes including 177 TFs were specially expressed in waxy maize seed, some of which mainly involved in the process of seed dormancy and maturation. In addition, 2681, 5686, 4491, 4386, 3669 and 4624 genes were identified to be differential expressed genes (DEGs) at six phases compared to regular maize B73, and 113 DEGs among them may be key genes that lead the difference of seed development between waxy and regular maizes in milk stage. Conclusion In summary, we elucidated the expression patterns of expressed genes during waxy maize seed development globally. A series of genes that associated with seed development were identified in our research, which may provide an important resource for functional study of waxy maize seed development to help molecular assisted breeding.