A multi-institutional team led by plant scientist Brian Larkins at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln has identified the genes and molecules
involved during the first few days after pollination in corn Research has
been done about the later stages of maturing kernels and has greatly
improved corn yields and performance under stress. But the initial stages of
kernel development, when it begins to form from a single cell, are more
difficult to study because of its tiny size. The genes involved also create
few, short-lived mRNAs, which makes their identification more challenging.

To identify the genes, the team looked for mRNAs present in the endosperm at
different points in its first few days after pollination. According to
Larkins, they have identified nearly all of the genes involved from about
34,000 mRNAs and more than a hundred transcription factors. The team also
identified the order and patterns in which the genes are expressed, and they
key transitional points in kernel development.

Larkins likened their accomplishment to finding pieces to a complex puzzle,
and he and other researchers can now assemble the complete picture of early
corn kernel development.

[newsroom.unl.edu]