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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Chemistry Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #328294
Title: Seed filling in domesticated maize and rice depends on SWEET-mediated hexose transport

Author
item SOSSO, DAVIDE - University Of Florida
item LUO, DANGPING - University Of Florida
item Li, Qin-Bao
item SASSE, JOELLE - University Of Florida
item YANG, JINLIANG - University Of Florida
item GENDROT, GHISLAINE - University Of Florida
item SUZUKI, MASAHARU - University Of Florida
item KOCH, KAREN - University Of Florida
item MCCARTY, DONALD - University Of Florida
item CHOUREY, PREM - University Of Florida
item ROGOWSKY, PETER - University Of Florida
item ROSS-IBARRA, JEFFREY - University Of Florida
item YANG, BING - University Of Florida
item FROMMER, WOLF - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/20/2016
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Carbohydrate import into seeds directly determines seed size and must have been increased through domestication. However, evidence for domestication of sugar translocation and the identity of seed filling transporters remained elusive. Maize ZmSWEET4c, as opposed to its sucrose-transporting homologs, mediates trans-epithelial hexose transport across the basal endosperm transfer layer (BETL), the entry point of nutrients into the seed, and shows signatures indicative of selection during domestication. Mutants of both maize zmsweet4c and its rice ortholog ossweet4 are defective in seed filling, indicating that a lack of hexose transport at the BETL impairs further transfer of sugars imported from the maternal phloem. In both cases SWEET4 was likely recruited during domestication to enhance sugar import into the endosperm.