A draft gene regulatory network for cellular totipotency reprogramming during plant somatic embryogenesis

The complexity of the somatic embryogenesis (SE) transcriptome suggests that numerous molecules are involved. To understand better the functional genomics of complex molecular systems during this important reprogramming process, we used bioinformatics and a pathway database to construct a draft network based on transcriptionally regulated SE-related genes, from functional genomics assays readout to high-level biological data interpretation. Here, a complex molecular system was unraveled by this network. This draft network is a potential reservoir for hundreds of testable predictions about cellular processes in early SE. This work could provide a useful test for modeling of a systems network and may have merit as a study presenting an advanced technology application due to its biological and economical importance. The approach presented here is scalable and can be extended to include additional data types. In particular, this effective system approach will be applied to various targeted gene networks in the future.