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Book of Abstracts First Legume Society Conference 2013: A Legume Odyssey Novi Sad, Serbia, 9-11 May 2013
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KEYNOTE LECTURE
Use of translational genomics to identify genes important for legume seed filling
M Noguero 1 , I D’Erfurth 1 , C Le Signor 1 , V Vernoud 1 , J Verdier 2 , G Aubert 1 , J Buitink 3 , J Gouzy 4 ,
J-M Prosperi 5 , T Huguet 6 , J Burstin 1 , K Gallardo 1 , RD Thompson 1
1 INRA, UMR1347 Agroécologie, Dijon, France
2 Plant Biology Division, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Ardmore, Oklahoma, USA
3 INRA, UMR Physiologie Moléculaire des Semences, Angers, France
4 INRA Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes Micro-organismes,Toulouse, France
5 UMR Diversité et adaptation des plantes cultivées, Montpellier, France
6 ENSAT, Toulouse, France
Translational genomics, i.e., the transfer of genetic information from model species to cultivated
crops, is on the brink of revolutionizing plant breeding. The recent publication of genomic
sequences for several cultivated legumes is also accelerating this process. For pea, recent highthroughput
RNA sequencing, and the prospect of a genome sequencing project, will further
accelerate the transfer of information from the Medicago truncatula model to the cultivated crop.
We have been using genomics approaches with Medicago as a tool to identify key genes
determining seed yield and composition in closely related legumes. Analyses of the proteome and
transcriptome of the component tissues of the developing seed revealed extensive
compartmentalization of gene expression and metabolic activities. Using a TF (Transcription
Factor) qRT-PCR platform and the Affymetrix Gene Chip, TFs specific for each seed tissue were
identified, along with putative target genes. These TFs have been located on the M. truncatula
genetic map and correlations between map positions of TF loci and QTLs for protein quantities
and other seed phenotypes were detected. These correlations can be recently confirmed in
numerous cases by the existence of similar QTLs at syntenic positions in pea. Two genes, both
specifically expressed in the developing endosperm, have received particular attention. One of the
genes encodes a DOF class transcription factor, whose mutant phenotype severely affects
endosperm development. The second gene encodes an endosperm-specific subtilase (SBT1.1),
which affects final seed weight. MiRNAs constitute another level of gene regulation whose
importance in the developing seed is beginning to become apparent. We have recently started to
compare the sRNA profiles of developing M. truncatula and pea seeds and preliminary results
will be presented.
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