Wheat hybrids have potential to capture the yield benefits arising from heterosis, but their commercial deployment is restricted due to high seed production costs, itself a result of wheat’s floral architecture and poor outcrossing characteristics. These can, in part, be attributed to poor female receptivity to airborne pollen conditioned by wheat’s floral morphology.

This study presents a comprehensive transcriptome dataset spanning the life cycle of pistils and stigmas of individual emasculated flowers from wild-type and genetically male-sterile wheat cv. ‘Chris’. By comparing gene expression levels to hand pollinated seed-set at successive time points post gaping, we identified gene networks implicated in stigma presentation, receptivity, and longevity.

These include networks linked to GA homeostasis likely associated with styloid and stigma hair elongation, and with increased expression of peroxidases and boron transporters correlating with peak receptivity. KIL-B1 and several ZmNAC76 orthologues were also identified to be upregulated at the onset of stigma senescence. By profiling female reproductive tissue specific marker genes, we further determined that physical emasculation (Ms1) advances female development by approximately 2 to 3 days relative to genic male sterility (ms1d).

The dataset represents a novel genomics resource for identifying and/or engineering improved gene variants for use in breeding female wheat inbreds with improved seed set, and hence, a more cost-effective hybrid seed production.