ArticleBMC plant biology2026
Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of a mutant reveals the potential mechanism of endosperm content increase in sweet-waxy double recessive maize.
Article in BMC plant biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe shrunken kernel phenotype in double recessive sweet-waxy maize (sh2sh2wxwx), caused by impaired starch biosynthesis, severely limits its commercial value.
methodsTo explore mechanisms for overcoming this limitation, we characterized a novel mutant, M4-6, derived from EMS mutagenesis, which exhibits significantly increased kernel weight. An integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis was performed on 20-day-after-pollination endosperms of M4-6 and its wild-type (WT) counterpart.
resultsThe mutant displayed a 41.4% increase in dry grain weight, accompanied by elevated levels of soluble sugars (43.4%), sucrose (21.2%), and a marked enhancement in ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) content (85.3%) and activity (45.2%). Transcriptome analysis revealed 2,055 differentially expressed genes, predominantly enriched in carbon metabolism, amino acid degradation (e.g., valine, leucine, and isoleucine), and transport (e.g., ABC transporters) pathways. Metabolomic profiling identified 68 differential metabolites, indicating enhanced turnover of carbon compounds, with depletion of intermediates like succinic acid and serine alongside accumulation of metabolites such as β-alanine and tartaric acid. Integrated analysis suggested that the mutant orchestrates a metabolic shift characterized by a state of heightened carbon flux and interconversion, driven by augmented AGPase activity and transcriptional reprogramming of starch and sucrose metabolism.
conclusionsOur study reveals that the M4-6 mutant achieves improved kernel filling through a multifaceted reprogramming of central metabolism, providing a theoretical basis and candidate pathways for potentially overcoming the post-harvest shriveling defect and improving kernel quality of sweet-waxy maize.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.