Integrating proteomics and genomics into systems genetics provides novel insights into the mechanisms of drought tolerance in maize

M. Blein (1) , Sandra Silvia Negro (1) , Thierry Balliau (1) , Claude Welcker (2) , Llorenç Cabrera Bosquet (2) , Stephane S. Nicolas (1) , Alain Charcosset (1) , Michel Zivy (1)

1 GQE-Le Moulon - Génétique Quantitative et Evolution - Le Moulon (Génétique Végétale)
2 LEPSE - Écophysiologie des Plantes sous Stress environnementaux

The evolution of maize yields under drought is of particular concern in the context of climate change and human population growth. To better understand the mechanisms associated with the genetic polymorphisms underlying the variations of traits related to drought tolerance, we used a systems genetics approach integrating high-throughput phenotypic, proteomics and genomics data acquired on 254 maize hybrids grown under two watering conditions. We show that water deficit, even mild, induced a strong proteome remodeling and a reprogramming of the genetic control of the abundance of many proteins. We identify close colocalizations between QTLs and pQTLs, thus highlighting environment-specific pleiotropic loci associated to the co-expression of drought-responsive proteins and to the variations of phenotypic traits. These findings bring several lines of evidence supporting candidate genes at many loci and provide novel insight into the molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance.

Mots clés: mechanisms of drought tolerance in maize

Mots clés: genetics; proteomics; genomics

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]; Biologie végétale; Sciences de l'environnement

M. Blein, Sandra Silvia Negro, Thierry Balliau, Claude Welcker, Llorenç Cabrera Bosquet, et al.. Integrating proteomics and genomics into systems genetics provides novel insights into the mechanisms of drought tolerance in maize. 2019. ⟨hal-02788569⟩