The translational landscape of bread wheat during grain development

Area of Science:

• Plant Biology
• Molecular Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Gene expression is typically studied at the transcriptional level, overlooking rapid translational control.
• Translational regulation enhances organismal plasticity but is understudied in crop grains.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively map the translatome of developing bread wheat grains.
• To investigate genome-wide translational dynamics and regulatory mechanisms during wheat grain development.

Main Methods:

• Ribosome profiling and polysome profiling were employed to generate translatome data.
• Analysis of genome-wide translational dynamics, including stage-specific modulation and subgenome expression.

Main Results:

• Stage-specific translational modulation of numerous functional genes was observed.
• Pervasive unbalanced translation between wheat subgenomes increases expression flexibility.
• Numerous unannotated translation events, including uORFs, dORFs, and ORFs in lncRNAs, were discovered and characterized.

Conclusions:

• Translational regulation, including uORFs, significantly impacts gene expression in wheat grains.
• This translatomic resource offers insights into translational control for future crop improvement.
• Understanding translational dynamics is crucial for optimizing wheat yield and quality.