Phenotypic Investigation and RNA-seq of KN1 Involved in Leaf Angle Formation in Maize (Zea mays L.)

Leaf angle (LA) is one of the core agronomic traits of maize, which controls maize yield by affecting planting density. Previous studies have shown that the KN1 gene is closely related to the formation of maize LA, but its specific mechanism has not been fully studied. In this study, phenotype investigation and transcriptomic sequencing were combined to explore the mechanism of LA changes in wild type maize B73 and mutant kn1 under exogenous auxin (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. The results showed that the effect of exogenous phytohormones had a greater impact on the LA of kn1 compared to B73. Transcriptome sequencing showed that genes involved in IAA, gibberellins (GAs) and brassinosteroids (BRs) showed different differential expression patterns in kn1 and B73. This study provides new insights into the mechanism of KN1 involved in the formation of maize LA, and provides a theoretical basis for breeding maize varieties with suitable LA.