AUTHOR=Li Yong-Bo , Yan Mei , Cui De-Zhou , Huang Chen , Sui Xin-Xia , Guo Feng Zhi , Fan Qing-Qi , Chu Xiu-Sheng TITLE=Programmed Degradation of Pericarp Cells in Wheat Grains Depends on Autophagy JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2021.784545 DOI=10.3389/fgene.2021.784545 ISSN=1664-8021 ABSTRACT=
Wheat is one of the most important food crops in the world, with development of the grains directly determining yield and quality. Understanding grain development and the underlying regulatory mechanisms is therefore essential in improving the yield and quality of wheat. In this study, the developmental characteristics of the pericarp was examined in developing wheat grains of the new variety Jimai 70. As a result, pericarp thickness was found to be thinnest in grains at the top of the spike, followed by those in the middle and thickest at the bottom. Moreover, this difference corresponded to the number of cell layers in the pericarp, which decreased as a result of programmed cell death (PCD). A number of autophagy-related genes (