GLOBAL PROFILING OF NUTRIENT-SENSITIVE GENE NETWORKS THAT CONTROL MAIZE LEAF INITIATION

The goal of this project is to define the TARGET OF RAPAYMCIN-TERMINAL EAR1-regulated transcriptome and translatome in maize. By conducting parallel experiments in wild-type maize, ate1 mutant, and the complementing transgenic TE1PRO:TE1-YFP line, I will unravel the gene regulatory network controlled by TE1 and its RNA targets. Taken together, I will leverage these data to construct a whole-genome mechanistic model of the regulatory network that determines the rate of leaf initiation in maize and advance our understanding of how maize grows in response to nutrient availability.