A co-opted steroid synthesis gene, maintained in sorghum but not maize, is associated with a divergence in leaf wax chemistry.

ABSTRACT: Virtually all land plants are coated in a cuticle, a waxy polyester that prevents nonstomatal water loss and is important for heat and drought tolerance. Here, we describe a likely genetic basis for a divergence in cuticular wax chemistry between Sorghum bicolor, a drought tolerant crop widely cultivated in hot climates, and its close relative Zea mays (maize). Combining chemical analyses, heterologous expression, and comparative genomics, we reveal that: 1) sorghum and maize leaf waxes are similar at the juvenile stage but, after the juvenile-to-adult transition, sorghum leaf waxes are rich in triterpenoids that are absent from maize; 2) biosynthesis of the majority of sorghum leaf triterpenoids is mediated by a gene that maize and sorghum both inherited from a common ancest

SUBMITTER: Busta L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8000359 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature