Genetic Mechanisms Related to Crop Seed Development

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 476

Special Issue Editors

College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Interests: seed development; seedling establishment; seed germination; maize; QTL; lipid biosynthesis; lignin biosynthesis
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Guest Editor
Engineering Technology Research Center of Maize Germplasm Resources Innovation on Cold Land of Heilongjiang Province, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Interests: maize genetics and breeding; seed biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The title of this Special Issue is “Genetic Mechanisms Related to Crop Seed Development”. The aim is to promote a joint discussion on the frontiers of current research dynamics and find opportunities for collaboration in this field. The scope of research for this collection mainly includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  1. Genetic and biological processes of crop seed development;
  2. Dehydration physiology of crop seeds during seed production;
  3. Hormone regulation in seed development or seedling development;
  4. Secondary metabolism during crop seed development;
  5. Seed germination and seedling establishment;
  6. Stress responses during seed or seedling development.

We would like to invite all scholars who study crop seed development to contribute to this Special Issue. Original research and comments are welcome.

Dr. Li Li
Prof. Dr. Hong Di
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • seed development
  • seed germination
  • seed vigor

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 6387 KiB  
Article
Multi-Omics Analysis Reveals Differential Molecular Responses of RNA Polymerase Common Subunit ZmRPABC5b for Seedling Development in Maize
by Yaoran Yi, Jie Zhang, Shuangqi Guo, Xuemei Du, Riliang Gu, Jianhua Wang and Quanquan Chen
Plants 2025, 14(6), 941; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14060941 - 17 Mar 2025
Viewed by 366
Abstract
The normal development of maize (Zea mays) seedling is a prerequisite for achieving high crop yields. Although numerous molecular pathways regulate seedling development, the role of RNA polymerases (RNAPs) in this process remains largely unclear, and the function of common RNAP [...] Read more.
The normal development of maize (Zea mays) seedling is a prerequisite for achieving high crop yields. Although numerous molecular pathways regulate seedling development, the role of RNA polymerases (RNAPs) in this process remains largely unclear, and the function of common RNAP subunits in plants are not well understood. Here, we characterized the loss-of-function mutant of common subunit ZmRPABC5b, defective kernel 701 (dek701), which displays delayed seedling development. To elucidate the role of ZmRPABC5b in maize seedling growth, we conducted transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses. This study found that the loss of ZmRPABC5b function severely impaired early seedling growth, leading to significant reductions in stem length, root length, as well as fresh and dry weight. Transcriptome analysis identified 3780 upregulated and 4385 downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in dek701 seedlings compared to wild type. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of DEGs revealed that significant enrichment in pathways related to RNA biosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolic, hormone stimulus, cellular transporter and ribosome activity. Metabolome analysis identified 501 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) in dek701 seedlings, which were significantly enriched in the amino acid metabolism, secondary metabolites, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, transport and translation. These findings provide substantial insight into the ZmRPABC5b regulatory network, positioning it as a central hub for regulating seedling development in maize. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Mechanisms Related to Crop Seed Development)
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