Transcriptional Regulation of Endosperm Development
Summary
The endosperm is a specialised nutritive tissue that arises from the fertilisation of the central cell in flowering plants and supports embryo growth through the accumulation of starch, proteins and oils. Its development is governed by tightly controlled transcriptional programmes that coordinate cell proliferation, differentiation and storage product synthesis. Key transcription factors integrate hormonal signals—such as auxin and abscisic acid—with sugar cues to activate or repress gene networks responsible for nutrient transfer and reserve deposition. Epigenetic mechanisms, including histone modifications and DNA methylation, further refine spatial and temporal gene expression patterns, ensuring that maternal and filial genomes contribute appropriately. Recent advances have revealed the hierarchical structure of regulatory circuits, in which master regulators recruit chromatin remodellers to open or close promoter regions, establishing developmental phase transitions from cellularisation to maturation. Understanding this complex interplay is crucial for crop improvement strategies aimed at enhancing seed size, yield and nutritional quality under diverse environmental conditions.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have applied spatial transcriptomics to developing maize kernels, mapping gene expression at cellular resolution across the endosperm. This work uncovered distinct zones responsible for starch, protein and oil accumulation, identified novel marker genes for eleven cell populations and revealed how sucrose is distributed post-phloem to support grain filling. Earlier mechanistic research demonstrated that sucrose and abscisic acid act synergistically to induce a specific AP2/EREBP-family transcription factor in maize endosperm. This factor binds promoters of starch synthase genes, enhancing their transcriptional activation and thus modulating the balance between starch and protein biosynthesis during seed maturation. Together, these findings illustrate how spatial cues and metabolite signals converge on dedicated regulators to shape endosperm structure and composition.
Transcriptional Regulation of Endosperm Development publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in transcriptional regulation of endosperm development across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Endosperm: A triploid nutritive tissue in seeds that supports embryo development through nutrient storage.
Transcription factor: A protein that binds specific DNA sequences to regulate the transcription of target genes.
Chromatin accessibility: The degree to which DNA is exposed and available for transcriptional machinery, influenced by nucleosome positioning and histone modifications.
Spatial transcriptomics: A technique that maps gene expression profiles within tissue sections to reveal the spatial organisation of cell populations.
Epigenetic modification: Heritable chemical alterations to DNA or histone proteins that affect gene expression without changing the DNA sequence.
Cis-acting element: A DNA sequence located near a gene that binds regulatory proteins to control that gene’s transcription.
References
- Spatial transcriptomics uncover sucrose post-phloem transport during maize kernel development. Nature Communications (2023).
- Deciphering the Transcriptional Regulatory Network Governing Starch and Storage Protein Biosynthesis in Wheat for Breeding Improvement. Advanced Science (2024).
- Dynamic Transcriptome Landscape of Maize Embryo and Endosperm Development. Plant Physiology (2014).
- Genome-Wide Characterization of cis-Acting DNA Targets Reveals the Transcriptional Regulatory Framework of Opaque2 in Maize. The Plant Cell (2015).
- Sucrose and ABA regulate starch biosynthesis in maize through a novel transcription factor, ZmEREB156. Scientific Reports (2016).
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