Male Sterility (male + sterility)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Life Sciences

Kinds of Male Sterility

  • cytoplasmic male sterility
  • hybrid male sterility


  • Selected Abstracts


    DROUGHT STRESS: Role of Carbohydrate Metabolism in Drought-Induced Male Sterility in Rice Anthers,

    JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 5 2010
    G. N. Nguyen
    Abstract Rice plants exposed to three consecutive days of water stress (,0.5 MPa) show a reduction in male fertility and grain set, which is attributed to increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activation of a programmed cell death. This current research was conducted to further investigate the association of sugar metabolism with microspore abortion in rice anthers. Biochemical assays showed that sucrose, glucose and fructose contents were found to be significantly increased in anthers from water stressed plants compared with the control. qRT-PCR analyses and in situ hybridization of metabolic genes (sugar transporters, invertase and phosphotransferase/kinases) demonstrated that the supply of sugars for developing microspores and the initial steps of sugar utilization e.g. glycolysis, were not repressed. However, it appears that the accumulation of sugars in stressed anthers might involve a reduction of mitochondrial activity during the tricarboxylic acid cycle, which could result in excessive production of ROS and a depletion of the ATP pool. These results also suggest that higher levels of sugars at all stages of anther development seemed to be associated with some measure of protection to the anthers against oxidative stress. Induced expression of sugar transporter genes might have maintained the high levels of sugar in the tapetum and the locules, which alleviated oxidant damage caused by excessive ROS generation. Thus, the increased level of sugars might potentially be a natural response in providing protection against oxidant damage by strengthening the antioxidant system in anthers. [source]


    Structural and Expressional Variations of the Mitochondrial Genome Conferring the Wild Abortive Type of Cytoplasmic Male Sterility in Rice

    JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2007
    Zhen-Lan Liu
    Abstract The so-called "wild abortive" (WA) type of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) derived from a wild rice species Oryza rufipogon has been extensively used for hybrid rice breeding. However, extensive analysis of the structure of the related mitochondrial genome has not been reported, and the CMS-associated gene(s) remain unknown. In this study, we exploited a mitochondrial genome-wide strategy to examine the structural and expressional variations in the mitochondrial genome conferring the CMS. The entire mitochondrial genomes of a CMS-WA line and two normal fertile rice lines were amplified by Long-polymerase chain reaction into tilling fragments of up to 15.2 kb. Restriction and DNA blotting analyses of these fragments revealed that structural variations occurred in several regions in the WA mitochondrial genome, as compared to those of the fertile lines. All of the amplified fragments covering the entire mitochondrial genome were used as RNA blot probes to examine the mitochondrial expression profile among the CMS-WA and fertile lines. As a result, only two mRNAs were found to be differentially expressed between the CMS-WA and the fertile lines, which were detected by a probe containing the nad5 and orf153 genes and the other having the ribosomal protein gene rpl5, respectively. These mRNAs are proposed to be the candidates for further identification and functional studies of the CMS gene. [source]


    PARENTAL EFFECTS AND GENDER SPECIALIZATION IN A TROPICAL HETEROSTYLOUS SHRUB

    EVOLUTION, Issue 3 2000
    Germá;n Avila-Sakar
    Abstract., Male sterility in hermaphroditic species may represent the first step in the evolution toward dioecy. However, gender specialization will not proceed unless the male-sterile individuals compensate for fitness lost through the male function with an increase in fitness through the female function. In the distylous shrub Erythroxylum havanense, thrum plants are partially male-sterile. Using data collected throughout eight years, we investigated whether thrum individuals have an increased performance as female parents, thereby compensating for their loss of male fitness. We found that thrum plants outperformed pins in the probabilities of seed maturation and germination and long-term growth of the seedlings. In turn, pollen from pin plants achieved greater pollen tube growth rates. Our results suggest that the superior performance of the progeny of thrum maternal plants is a consequence of better seed provisioning via effects of the maternal environment, cytotype or nuclear genes. Overall, our results suggest that E. havanense is evolving toward a dioecious state through a gynodioecious intermediate stage. This evolutionary pathway is characterized by an unusual pattern of gender dimorphism with thrums becoming females and pins becoming males. We propose that this pattern may be better explained by the interaction between male-sterility cytoplasmic genes and the heterostyly supergene. [source]


    Genetic analysis and gene mapping of a rice recessive male sterile mutant

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 3 2010
    J. B. Chen
    With 3 figures and 2 tables Abstract Male sterility of rice is one of the major genetic tools used for hybrid rice production. In this study, a spontaneous male sterile mutant, SC-ms-2, was obtained from the F4 progeny of the cross D 297B × Changfeng B. Microscopic observation revealed that the microspores were developed abnormally and the tapetum cells were incrassated during microsporogenesis. Genetic analysis indicated that male sterility of SC-ms-2 was controlled by a single recessive gene. By using bulked segregant analysis on two F2 populations developed from crossing SC-ms-2 with Hua B and ,Nipponbare', this gene was finely mapped between two simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers on chromosome 9, RM24451 and RM7048, with genetic distance of 0.3 cM and 0.6 cM respectively, and the approximate physical distance was 172 kb. Our results showed that this gene was distinguished from all the other male sterility genes in rice reported and it was designated ms92(t), temporally. Moreover, candidate genes in the region of 172kb, including the rice homologue to the Arabidopsis MALE STERILITY1 (MS1) gene, were surveyed and discussed. [source]


    DO RECENT FINDINGS IN PLANT MITOCHONDRIAL MOLECULAR AND POPULATION GENETICS HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE STUDY OF GYNODIOECY AND CYTONUCLEAR CONFLICT?

    EVOLUTION, Issue 5 2008
    David E. McCauley
    The coexistence of females and hermaphrodites in plant populations, or gynodioecy, is a puzzle recognized by Darwin. Correns identified cytoplasmic inheritance of one component of sex expression, now known as cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). Lewis established cytonuclear inheritance of gynodioecy as an example of genetic conflict. Although biologists have since developed an understanding of the mechanisms allowing the joint maintenance of CMS and nuclear male fertility restorer genes, puzzles remain concerning the inheritance of sex expression and mechanisms governing the origination of CMS. Much of the theory of gynodioecy rests on the assumption of maternal inheritance of the mitochondrial genome. Here we review recent studies of the genetics of plant mitochondria, and their implications for the evolution and transmission of CMS. New studies of intragenomic recombination provide a plausible origin for the chimeric ORFs that characterize CMS. Moreover, evidence suggests that nonmaternal inheritance of mitochondria may be more common than once believed. These findings may have consequences for the maintenance of cytonuclear polymorphism, mitochondrial recombination, generation of gynomonoecious phenotypes, and interpretation of experimental crosses. Finally we point out that CMS can alter the nature of the cytonuclear conflict that may have originally selected for uniparental inheritance. [source]


    NATURAL VARIATION FOR A HYBRID INCOMPATIBILITY BETWEEN TWO SPECIES OF MIMULUS

    EVOLUTION, Issue 1 2007
    Andrea L. Sweigart
    Understanding the process by which hybrid incompatibility alleles become established in natural populations remains a major challenge to evolutionary biology. Previously, we discovered a two-locus Dobzhansky,Muller incompatibility that causes severe hybrid male sterility between two inbred lines of the incompletely isolated wildflower species, Mimulus guttatus and M. nasutus. An interspecific cross between these two inbred lines revealed that the M. guttatus (IM62) allele at hybrid male sterility 1 (hms1) acts dominantly in combination with recessive M. nasutus (SF5) alleles at hybrid male sterility 2 (hms2) to cause nearly complete hybrid male sterility. In this report, we extend these genetic analyses to investigate intraspecific variation for the hms1,hms2 incompatibility in natural populations of M. nasutus and M. guttatus, performing a series of interspecific crosses between individuals collected from a variety of geographic locales. Our results suggest that hms2 incompatibility alleles are common and geographically widespread within M. nasutus, but absent or rare in M. guttatus. In contrast, the hms1 locus is polymorphic within M. guttatus and the incompatibility allele appears to be extremely geographically restricted. We found evidence for the presence of the hms1 incompatibility allele in only two M. guttatus populations that exist within a few kilometers of each other. The restricted distribution of the hms1 incompatibility allele might currently limit the potential for the hms1,hms2 incompatibility to act as a species barrier between sympatric populations of M. guttatus and M. nasutus. Extensive sampling within a single M. guttatus population revealed that the hms1 locus is polymorphic and that the incompatibility allele appears to segregate at intermediate frequency, a pattern that is consistent with either genetic drift or natural selection. [source]


    CYTO-NUCLEAR EPISTASIS: TWO-LOCUS RANDOM GENETIC DRIFT IN HERMAPHRODITIC AND DIOECIOUS SPECIES

    EVOLUTION, Issue 4 2006
    Michael J. Wade
    Abstract We report the findings of our theoretical investigation of the effect of random genetic drift on the covariance of identity-by-descent (ibd) of nuclear and cytoplasmic genes. The covariance in ibd measures of the degree to which cyto-nuclear gene combinations are heritable, that is, transmitted together from parents to offspring. We show how the mating system affects the covariance of ibd, a potentially important aspect of host-pathogen or host-symbiont coevolution. The magnitude of this covariance influences the degree to which the evolution of apparently neutral cytoplasmic genes, often used in molecular phylogenetics, might be influenced by selection acting on unlinked nuclear genes. To the extent that cyto-nuclear gene combinations are inherited together, genomic conflict is mitigated and intergenomic transfer it facilitated, because genes in both organelle and nuclear genomes share the same evolutionary fate. The covariance of ibd also affects the rate at which cyto-nuclear epistatic variance is converted to additive variance necessary for a response to selection. We find that conversion is biased in species with separate sexes, so that the increment of additive variance added to the nuclear genome exceeds that added to the cytoplasmic genome. As a result, the host might have an adaptive advantage in a coevolutionary arms race with vertically (maternally) transmitted pathogens. Similarly, the nuclear genome could be a source of compensatory mutations for its organellar genomes, as occurs in cytoplasmic male sterility in some plant species. We also discuss the possibility that adaptive cytoplasmic elements, such as favorable mitochondrial mutations or endosymbionts (e.g., Wolbachia), have the potential to release heritable nuclear variation as they sweep through a host population, supporting the view that cytoplasmic introgression plays an important role in adaptation and speciation. [source]


    GENETIC DISSECTION OF HYBRID INCOMPATIBILITIES BETWEEN DROSOPHILA SIMULANS AND D. MAURITIANA.: III.

    EVOLUTION, Issue 11 2003
    AND IMPLICATIONS FOR HALDANE, DEGREE OF DOMINANCE, HETEROGENEOUS ACCUMULATION OF HYBRID INCOMPATIBILITIES
    Abstract The genetic basis of Haldane,rule was investigated through estimating the accumulation of hybrid incompatibilities between Drosophila simulans and D. mauritiana by means of introgression. The accumulation of hybrid male sterility (HMS) is at least 10 times greater than that of hybrid female sterility (HFS) or hybrid lethality (HL). The degree of dominance for HMS and HL in a pure D. simulans background is estimated as 0.23,0.29 and 0.33,0.39, respectively; that for HL in an F1 background is unlikely to be very small. Evidence obtained here was used to test the Turelli-Orr model of Haldane's rule. Composite causes, especially, faster-male evolution and recessive hybrid incompatibilities, underlie Haldane's rule in heterogametic male taxa such as Drosophila (XY male and XX female). However, if faster-male evolution is driven by sexual selection, it contradicts Haldane's rule for sterility in hetero-gametic-female taxa such as Lepidoptera (ZW female and ZZ male). The hypothesis of a faster-heterogametic-sex evolution seems to fit the current data best. This hypothesis states that gametogenesis in the heterogametic sex, instead of in males per se, evolves much faster than in the homogametic sex, in part because of sex-ratio selection. This hypothesis not only explains Haldane's rule in a simple way, but also suggests that genomic conflicts play a major role in evolution and speciation. [source]


    Cold adaptation in geographical populations of Drosophila melanogaster: phenotypic plasticity is more important than genetic variability

    FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2004
    A. AYRINHAC
    Summary 1According to their geographical distribution, most Drosophila species may be classified as either temperate or tropical, and this pattern is assumed to reflect differences in their thermal adaptation, especially in their cold tolerance. We investigated cold tolerance in a global collection of D. melanogaster by monitoring the time adults take to recover from chill coma after a treatment at 0 °C. 2Flies grown at an intermediate temperature (21 °C) showed a significant linear latitudinal cline: recovery was faster in populations living in colder climates. 3The role of growth temperature was analysed in a subset of tropical and temperate populations. In all cases, recovery time decreased when growth temperature was lowered, and linear reaction norms were observed. This adaptive phenotypic plasticity explained more than 80% of the total variation, while genetic latitudinal differences accounted for less than 4%. 4The beneficial effect observed in adults grown at a low temperature contrasts with other phenotypic effects which, like male sterility, appear as harmful and pathological. Our results point to the difficulty of finding a general interpretation to the diversity of plastic responses that are induced by growth temperature variations. [source]


    Postzygotic incompatibilities between the pupfishes, Cyprinodon elegans and Cyprinodon variegatus: hybrid male sterility and sex ratio bias

    JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2006
    C. TECH
    Abstract I examined the intrinsic postzygotic incompatibilities between two pupfishes, Cyprinodon elegans and Cyprinodon variegatus. Laboratory hybridization experiments revealed evidence of strong postzygotic isolation. Male hybrids have very low fertility, and the survival of backcrosses into C. elegans was substantially reduced. In addition, several crosses produced female-biased sex ratios. Crosses involving C. elegans females and C. variegatus males produced only females, and in backcrosses involving hybrid females and C. elegans males, males made up approximately 25% of the offspring. All other crosses produced approximately 50% males. These sex ratios could be explained by genetic incompatibilities that occur, at least in part, on sex chromosomes. Thus, these results provide strong albeit indirect evidence that pupfish have XY chromosomal sex determination. The results of this study provide insight on the evolution of reproductive isolating mechanisms, particularly the role of Haldane's rule and the ,faster-male' theory in taxa lacking well-differentiated sex chromosomes. [source]


    Structural and Expressional Variations of the Mitochondrial Genome Conferring the Wild Abortive Type of Cytoplasmic Male Sterility in Rice

    JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2007
    Zhen-Lan Liu
    Abstract The so-called "wild abortive" (WA) type of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) derived from a wild rice species Oryza rufipogon has been extensively used for hybrid rice breeding. However, extensive analysis of the structure of the related mitochondrial genome has not been reported, and the CMS-associated gene(s) remain unknown. In this study, we exploited a mitochondrial genome-wide strategy to examine the structural and expressional variations in the mitochondrial genome conferring the CMS. The entire mitochondrial genomes of a CMS-WA line and two normal fertile rice lines were amplified by Long-polymerase chain reaction into tilling fragments of up to 15.2 kb. Restriction and DNA blotting analyses of these fragments revealed that structural variations occurred in several regions in the WA mitochondrial genome, as compared to those of the fertile lines. All of the amplified fragments covering the entire mitochondrial genome were used as RNA blot probes to examine the mitochondrial expression profile among the CMS-WA and fertile lines. As a result, only two mRNAs were found to be differentially expressed between the CMS-WA and the fertile lines, which were detected by a probe containing the nad5 and orf153 genes and the other having the ribosomal protein gene rpl5, respectively. These mRNAs are proposed to be the candidates for further identification and functional studies of the CMS gene. [source]


    Characterization of ,-tubulin gene distinctively presented in a cytoplasmic male sterile and its maintainer line of non-heading Chinese cabbage

    JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 2 2009
    Jingyi Zhang
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Microtubules are prominent components of the cytoskeleton in every eukaryotic cell. Plant microtubules are essential for a wide variety of cellular functions, including generation of cell polarity, intracellular transport, positioning of organelles, cell wall deposition and cell division. The major component of microtubules is tubulin, an ,,, heterodimer protein with a molecular mass of each subunit of around 50 kDa. Tubulin exists in cells as a mixture of polypeptides differing in their isoelectric points. Some post-translational modifications of tubulins are thought to modulate the functions and localization of microtubules within the cell. RESULTS: The complete sequence of a single-copy ,-tubulin gene Tuba1, belonging to a multiple gene family of non-heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris ssp. chinensis Makino), was obtained. The gene was expressed in high levels in young leaves and stamens, and it was also highly expressed during all stages of microsporogenesis in the maintainer. However, there was a distinct difference in ,-tubulin expression between the sterile stage and the normal stages of pollen in a cytoplasmic male sterility line and its maintainer. CONCLUSION:Tuba1 was significantly related to the cell division and elongation of non-heading Chinese cabbage, demonstrating that this gene played an important role in the development of pollen and may be closely related to male sterility. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


    Lower reproductive success in hybrid fur seal males indicates fitness costs to hybridization

    MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 15 2007
    MELANIE L. LANCASTER
    Abstract Hybridization among organisms can potentially contribute to the processes of evolution, but this depends on the fitness of hybrids relative to parental species. A small, recently formed population of fur seals on subantarctic Macquarie Island contains a high proportion of hybrids (17,30%) derived from combinations of three parental species: Antarctic, subantarctic and New Zealand fur seals. Mitochondrial control-region data (restriction fragment length polymorphisms) and nine microsatellites were used to determine the species composition of breeding adults, and hybrid male fitness was measured by comparing reproductive success (number of genetically inferred paternities) of hybrid and pure-species territory males over 6 years. No correlations were found between male reproductive success and three genetic measures of outbreeding, but this may be due to a relatively small number of dominant males analysed. Territory males fathered 63% of pups, but hybrid males had lower reproductive success than pure-species males despite having the same ability to hold territories. A greater proportion of females in hybrid male territories conceived extra-territorially than those in territories of pure-species males, and most (70 of 82) mated with conspecifics. This suggests the presence of reproductive isolating mechanisms that promote positive assortative mating and reduce the production of hybrid offspring. Although we found no evidence for male sterility in the population, mechanisms that reduce lifetime reproductive success may act to decrease the frequency of hybrids. Our study has identified a disadvantage of hybridization , reduced reproductive success of hybrid sons , that may be contributing to the persistence of pure lineages at Macquarie Island and the temporal decline in hybridization observed there. [source]


    Polycystins: what polycystic kidney disease tells us about sperm

    MOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2004
    Abraham L. Kierszenbaum
    Abstract Experimental evidence indicates that the membrane-associated proteins polycystin-1 and polycystin-2 operate as a receptor-calcium channel complex that regulates signaling pathways essential for modulation of renal tubulogenesis. Polycystic kidney disease is characterized by defective renal tubular structure and results from mutations in either PKD1 or PKD2 genes. Recent data suggest that polycystin-1 and polycystin-2 might localize to primary cilium in principal cells of renal collecting tubules and are thought to act as mechanosensors of fluid flow and contents. Ciliary bending by fluid flow or mechanical stimulation induce Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, presumably to modulate ion influx in response to tubular fluid flow. Polycystins are also emerging as playing a significant role in sperm development and function. Drosophila polycystin-2 is associated with the head and tail of mature sperm. Targeted disruption of the PKD2 homolog results in nearly complete male sterility without disrupting spermatogenesis. Mutant sperm are motile but are unable to reach the female storage organs (seminal receptacles and spermathecae). The sea urchin polycystin-1-equivalent suPC2 colocalizes with the polycystin-1 homolog REJ3 to the plasma membrane over the acrosomal vesicle. This localization site suggests that the suPC2-REJ3 complex may function as a cation channel mediating acrosome reaction when sperm contact the jelly layer surrounding the egg at fertilization. Future studies leading to the identification of specific ligands for polycystins, including the signaling pathways, might define the puzzling relationship between renal tubular morphogenesis and sperm development and function. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 67: 385,388, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


    A field guide to models of sex-ratio evolution in gynodioecious species

    OIKOS, Issue 10 2007
    Maia F. Bailey
    Gynodioecious plant species, species in which individuals are females or hermaphrodites, are ideal systems for studying connections between genetics, ecology, and long-term evolutionary changes because sex determination can be complex, involving cytoplasmic and/or nuclear genes, and sex ratio is often variable across landscapes. Field data are needed to evaluate the many theories concerning this breeding system. In order to facilitate the gathering of relevant data, this paper introduces the four types of gynodiocy (nuclear, nuclear-cytoplasmic and stochastic gynodioecy plus subdioecy), describes example species and expected patterns, discusses the various forces that drive the evolution of female frequencies, and gives concrete advice on where to start collecting data for different systems. For species in which females are relatively rare, we recommend reciprocal crosses to determine if sex-determination is nuclear or nuclear-cytoplasmic along with a search for correlations between female frequencies and ecological factors. For species in which females are common and sex ratios are highly variable, we recommend looking at female offspring sex ratios to determine if females are primarily produced in ephemeral epidemics. In the course of this discussion, we argue that the majority of natural gynodioecious species will have complex sex determination in which multiple cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) genes interact with multiple nuclear restorers of fertility. Sex-ratio evolution in such species will be primarily influenced by fitness differences among hermaphrodites (costs of restoration) and less influenced by fitness differences between the sexes (compensation). Metapopulation dynamics alone may explain population sex ratios of species in which females are associated with marginal environments or hybrid zones; however, we feel that in most cases equilibrium forces within populations and metapopulation dynamics among populations each explain portions of the sex-ratio pattern. [source]


    A strategy to provide long-term control of weedy rice while mitigating herbicide resistance transgene flow, and its potential use for other crops with related weeds

    PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (FORMERLY: PESTICIDE SCIENCE), Issue 7 2009
    Jonathan Gressel
    Abstract Transgenic herbicide-resistant rice is needed to control weeds that have evolved herbicide resistance, as well as for the weedy (feral, red) rice problem, which has been exacerbated by shifting to direct seeding throughout the world,firstly in Europe and the Americas, and now in Asia, as well as in parts of Africa. Transplanting had been the major method of weedy rice control. Experience with imidazolinone-resistant rice shows that gene flow to weedy rice is rapid, negating the utility of the technology. Transgenic technologies are available that can contain herbicide resistance within the crop (cleistogamy, male sterility, targeting to chloroplast genome, etc.), but such technologies are leaky. Mitigation technologies tandemly couple (genetically link) the gene of choice (herbicide resistance) with mitigation genes that are neutral or good for the crop, but render hybrids with weedy rice and their offspring unfit to compete. Mitigation genes confer traits such as non-shattering, dwarfism, no secondary dormancy and herbicide sensitivity. It is proposed to use glyphosate and glufosinate resistances separately as genes of choice, and glufosinate, glyphosate and bentazone susceptibilities as mitigating genes, with a six-season rotation where each stage kills transgenic crop volunteers and transgenic crop × weed hybrids from the previous season. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


    The expression and promoter specificity of the birch homologs for PISTILLATA/GLOBOSA and APETALA3/DEFICIENS

    PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM, Issue 2 2005
    Mika Lännenpää
    B-function genes determine the identity of petals and stamens in the flowers of model plants such as Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum. Here, we show that a putative B-function gene BpMADS2, a birch homolog for PISTILLATA, is expressed in stamens and carpels of birch inflorescences. We also present a novel birch gene BpMADS8, a homolog for APETALA3/DEFICIENS, which is expressed in stamens. Promoter-GUS analysis revealed that BpMADS2 promoter is active in the receptacle of Arabidopsis flower buds while BpMADS8 promoter is highly specific in mature stamens. BpMADS2 promoter::BARNASE construct prevented floral organ development in Arabidopsis and tobacco. In birch, inflorescences with degenerated stamens and carpels were obtained. BpMADS8::BARNASE resulted in degeneration of stamens in Arabidopsis and birch causing male sterility. In tobacco, only sepals were developed instead of normal flowers. The results show that the BpMADS2::BARNASE construct can be used to specifically disrupt floral organ development in phylogenetically distant plant species. The stamen-specific promoter of BpMADS8 is a promising tool for biotechnological applications in inducing male sterility or targeting gene expression in the late stamen development. [source]


    Expression of CP4 EPSPS in microspores and tapetum cells of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is critical for male reproductive development in response to late-stage glyphosate applications

    PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL, Issue 5 2006
    Yun-Chia Sophia Chen
    Summary Plants expressing Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (CP4 EPSPS) are known to be resistant to glyphosate, a potent herbicide that inhibits the activity of the endogenous plant EPSPS. The RR1445 transgenic cotton line (current commercial line for Roundup Ready® Cotton) was generated using the figwort mosaic virus (FMV) 35S promoter to drive the expression of the CP4 EPSPS gene, and has excellent vegetative tolerance to glyphosate. However, with high glyphosate application rates at developmental stages later than the four-leaf stage (late-stage applications: applications that are inconsistent with the Roundup® labels), RR1445 shows male sterility. Another transgenic cotton line, RR60, was generated using the FMV 35S promoter and the Arabidopsis elongation factor-1, promoter (AtEF1,) for the expression of CP4 EPSPS. RR60 has excellent vegetative and reproductive tolerance to applications of glyphosate at all developmental stages. Histochemical analyses were conducted to examine the male reproductive development at the cellular level of these cotton lines in response to glyphosate applications, and to investigate the correlation between glyphosate injury and the expression of CP4 EPSPS in male reproductive tissues. The expression of CP4 EPSPS in RR60 was found to be strong in all male reproductive cell types. Conversely, CP4 EPSPS expression in RR1445 was low in pollen mother cells, male gametophytes and tapetum, three crucial male reproductive cell types. Our results indicate that the FMV 35S promoter, although expressing strongly in most vegetative tissues in plants, has extremely low activity in these cell types. [source]


    Genetic analysis and gene mapping of a rice recessive male sterile mutant

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 3 2010
    J. B. Chen
    With 3 figures and 2 tables Abstract Male sterility of rice is one of the major genetic tools used for hybrid rice production. In this study, a spontaneous male sterile mutant, SC-ms-2, was obtained from the F4 progeny of the cross D 297B × Changfeng B. Microscopic observation revealed that the microspores were developed abnormally and the tapetum cells were incrassated during microsporogenesis. Genetic analysis indicated that male sterility of SC-ms-2 was controlled by a single recessive gene. By using bulked segregant analysis on two F2 populations developed from crossing SC-ms-2 with Hua B and ,Nipponbare', this gene was finely mapped between two simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers on chromosome 9, RM24451 and RM7048, with genetic distance of 0.3 cM and 0.6 cM respectively, and the approximate physical distance was 172 kb. Our results showed that this gene was distinguished from all the other male sterility genes in rice reported and it was designated ms92(t), temporally. Moreover, candidate genes in the region of 172kb, including the rice homologue to the Arabidopsis MALE STERILITY1 (MS1) gene, were surveyed and discussed. [source]


    Molecular mapping of a fertility restorer gene for cytoplasmic male sterility in soybean

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 1 2010
    Y. Wang
    With 2 figures and 2 tables Abstract In this study, we report the mapping of the Rf locus in soybean by microsatellite simple sequence repeat (SSR) genetic markers. A cross was made between cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) line JLCMS82A and restorer line JIHUI 1 based on the DNA polymorphisms revealed by 109 SSR markers. A F2 population derived from a single F1 plant containing 103 individuals was used for mapping the Rf locus. The Rf gene of JIHUI 1 gametophytically restores male fertility to JLCMS82A. Fertile and semi-fertile DNA bulks and parental DNAs were screened with 219 SSR markers, and Satt215 which was previously mapped to soybean LG J, was found linked to the Rf gene. Five additional polymorphic SSR markers from LG J were used for analysis and a regional linkage map around the Rf locus was established. SSR markers, Sctt011 and Satt547, flanked the Rf locus at 3.6 cM and 5.4 cM, respectively. The availability of these SSR markers will facilitate the selection of restorer lines in hybrid soybean breeding. [source]


    Inheritance of very high linoleic acid content and its relationship with nuclear male sterility in safflower

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 5 2008
    Y. A. S. Hamdan
    Abstract Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) possesses the highest amount of linoleic acid among the 10 major vegetable oil crops of the world. Very high linoleic acid content is controlled by recessive alleles at a single locus Li. However, deviated segregations from the expected monogenic inheritance have been observed in crosses involving nuclear male-sterile (NMS) lines. The present research was undertaken to study the inheritance of very high linoleic acid content in safflower and its relationship with nuclear male sterility. F1, F2, F3, BC1F1 and BC1F2 seed generations were evaluated in a cross between CR-142 (a line with very high linoleic acid content, 88%) and CL1 (an NMS line with wild-type linoleic acid content, 74%). The genetics of linoleic acid content in male-sterile plants was determined by testcrossing with CR-142. The results confirmed monogenic inheritance. The analysis of the F3 and BC1F2 to CL1 seed generations demonstrated a repulsion-phase linkage between Li and Ms loci, the latter conferring the NMS trait. The recombination rate between Li and Ms was estimated to be 0.09. [source]


    Development and characterization of SCAR markers associated with a dominant genic male sterility in rapeseed

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 1 2008
    D. F. Hong
    Abstract Rs1046AB is a dominant genic male sterility (DGMS) line in rapeseed, in which the sterility has always been thought to be conditioned by the interaction of a male sterility gene (Ms) and its non-allelic restorer gene (Rf). This system provides not only a tool for assisting in recurrent selection but also a promising system for hybrid production. Based on previous studies, two amplified fragment length polymorphism markers linked with the Ms gene were converted into a dominant and a co-dominant sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker, respectively. The putative linear order relationship of three dominant SCAR markers with the same genetic distance from the Rf gene, was also determined by an examination of whether the homologues of these markers are present or not in different lines carrying Rf. A bigger fragment generated by the closest marker linked to the Rf gene was observed in all lines carrying the recessive allele rf, suggesting that this marker is a co-dominant marker, which was further confirmed by nucleotide sequence comparison of these fragments. SCAR markers specific for Ms and Rf will be especially valuable in marker-assisted DGMS three-line breeding. [source]


    Development and primary genetic analysis of a fertility temperature-sensitive polima cytoplasmic male sterility restorer in Brassica napus

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 3 2007
    Z. X. Fan
    Abstract Over the past decade, the polima cytoplasmic male sterility (pol CMS) three-line and two-line systems have been developed for the production of hybrid seed in Brassica napus oilseed rape in China. The discovery of the novel pol CMS restorer line FL-204 is described here. It restores male fertility of hybrid plants in the pol CMS system, but hybrid seed production can only be carried out under autumn sowing in Wuhan in south China under moderate temperatures at flowering. The restorer cannot be used as a male for hybrid seed production in northwestern China (Gansu) under spring sowing conditions, because there it is more or less male sterile due to high temperatures at flowering. Because of this behaviour, it is referred to as a fertility temperature-sensitive restorer (FTSR) in this paper. F2, BC1 as well as double haploid populations were constructed to determine the inheritance of fertility restoration of FL-204 in the autumn at Wuhan and under spring sowing conditions at Gansu, respectively. Deviations from Mendelian genetics were observed. It was hypothesized that the change of fertility was the result of the interaction between nuclear genes [restoring gene (Rf) and temperature-sensitive genes (ts)] and the cytoplasm. The Rf gene in FL-204 was incapable of restoring male fertility of pol CMS lines under spring sowing conditions at Gansu where it is inactivated by the recessive ts gene present in FL-204. However, the ts gene(s) could be non-functional under moderate temperature conditions at flowering at Wuhan which allows full expression of male fertility in FL-204. The recessive ts gene(s) can only be expressed in plants containing the pol sterile cytoplasm. A method for the utilization of the FTSR pol CMS restorer FL-204 for the production of hybrid seed in B. napus oilseed rape is proposed. [source]


    A unique introgression from Moricandia arvensis confers male fertility upon two different cytoplasmic male-sterile lines of Brassica juncea

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 2 2005
    S. R. Bhat
    Abstract A Brassica juncea line carrying an introgression from Moricandia arvensis restored male fertility to two cytoplasmic male-sterile (CMS) B. juncea lines carrying either M. arvensis or Diplotaxis catholica cytoplasm. Genetics of fertility restoration was studied in the F1, F2, F3 and backcross generations of the cross between CMS and fertility-restorer lines. No male-sterile plants were found in F1-F3 generations of the cross between CMS [M. arvensis] B. juncea and the restorer. However, a 1: 1 segregation for male sterility and fertility was observed when the F1 was pollinated with non-restorer pollen from a euplasmic line. These results clearly show that restoration is mono-genic and gametophytic. In CMS lines carrying D. catholica cytoplasm, the restorer conferred male fertility to the F1 and showed 3: 1 and 1: 1 segregations for male fertility and sterility in F2 and BC1 generations, respectively, indicating a monogenic, sporophytic mode of fertility restoration. The results were also supported by pollen stainability in the F1 which was about 65% in M. arvensis-based CMS and >90% in D. catholica-based CMS. The above results are discussed in the light of previous molecular studies which showed association between CMS and atpA in both systems. [source]


    Genetic diversity among populations and breeding lines from recurrent selection in Brassica napus as revealed by RAPD markers

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 1 2004
    M. Yuan
    Abstract Recurrent selection facilitated by dominant male sterility has been conducted to broaden the genetic basis for cultivar development in Brassica napus. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic variation in four base populations (C0-C3) and breeding lines from two of the populations produced during recurrent selection by random amplified polymorphic DNA (Rapd) markers. Genetic variation in four populations declined gradually with the advance of selection cycles as measured by expected genetic heterozygosity (from 0.2058 in C0 to 0.1536 in C3) but the decline was not statistically significant. When compared with the average genetic distances for 21 germplasm collections with wide geographical and genetic origins (0.4712) and seven breeding lines from pedigree selection (0.2059), seven breeding lines selected from the C1 population and 11 from the C3 population had a larger average genetic distance (0.5339 and 0.5486, respectively). Clustering analysis indicated that the lines from recurrent selection had a much lower genetic similarity than lines from pedigree selection. Our results suggest that base populations derived from recurrent selection could provide a wider genetic variation for selection of breeding lines with more broad genetic bases. [source]


    Reciprocal effects in true potato seed breeding in short-day length environments

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 4 2003
    A. M. Golmirzaie
    Abstract Reciprocal crosses may have significantly distinct performances regarding tuber characteristics in potato, suggesting the importance of cytoplasmic effects in this crop. The selection of parents for true potato seed breeding therefore needs to consider this potential effect when determining the direction of a cross. The aim of this research was to determine whether a broad-based true potato seed breeding population, developed at the Centro Internacional de la Papa, could be affected by cytoplasmic effects in the short-day length environments of the tropics. Two random sets of reciprocal biparental crosses were included in the first set of experiments, which were grown in two contrasting Peruvian locations. Only one out of 14 reciprocal crosses showed significantly distinct performance for tuber yield and tuber set. In the second set, only one of each of the 12 reciprocal crosses had distinct performance for vine earliness, days to flowering and flowering intensity, but four of the reciprocal crosses in the second set showed distinct pollen production. The results suggest that cytoplasmic effects in this breeding population are more important for reproductive characteristics such as pollen production than for tuber yield. This finding is not surprising because male sterility in potato results from the interaction between sensitive cytoplasm and dominant nuclear genes. [source]


    Investigations into the causes of segregation of Ogura male sterility in Bangladeshi cultivars of radish

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 4 2002
    M. A. Hossain
    Abstract In a series of three experiments during 1998-99 and 1999-2000 at Gazipur, Bangladesh, the causes of segregation of Ogura cytoplasmic genetic male sterility in local cultivars of radish were studied. Male-sterile populations at the BC5 and BC6 generations were grown under a range of field temperatures for 2 years and the results on pollen fertility tests revealed that the expression of male sterility was not affected by temperature. Neither was a genotype-year interaction found. The unexpected segregation observed in the male-sterile backcross generations might be due to the presence of restorer alleles in the maintainer parents. [source]


    Development of dominant nuclear male-sterile lines with a blue seed marker in durum and common wheat

    PLANT BREEDING, Issue 1 2001
    N. Tian
    Abstract In order to develop genie male-sterile lines with a blue seed marker, male-sterile plants, controlled by a dominant nuclear gene Ms2, were used as female parents against a 4E disomic addition line ,Xiaoyan Lanli'(2n= 44, AABBDD+4EII) as the male parent to produce monosomic addition lines with blue seed. Male-sterile plants from the monosomic addition lines were pollinated with durum wheat for several generations and in 1989 a male-sterile line with the blue grain gene and the male-sterile gene Ms2 on the same additional chromosome was detected and named line 89-2343. Using this line, the blue seed marker was successfully added to a short male-sterile line containing Ms2 and Rht10. The segregation ratios of male sterility and seed colour as well as the chromosome figurations of different plants indicated that the blue grain genes, Ms2 and Rht10 were located on the same additional chromosome. Cytological analysis showed that the blue marker male-sterile lines in durum wheat and common wheat were monosomic with an additional chromosome 4E. The inheritance ratio for blue seed male-sterile plants and white seed male-fertile plants was 19.7% and 80.3%, respectively, in common wheat. The potential for using blue marker sterile lines in population improvement and hybrid production is discussed. [source]


    Mutations in the cinnamate 4-hydroxylase gene impact metabolism, growth and development in Arabidopsis

    THE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 5 2009
    Anthony L. Schilmiller
    Summary The initial reactions of the phenylpropanoid pathway convert phenylalanine to p -coumaroyl CoA, a branch point metabolite from which many phenylpropanoids are made. Although the second enzyme of this pathway, cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase (C4H), is well characterized, a mutant for the gene encoding this enzyme has not yet, to our knowledge, been identified, presumably because knock-out mutations in this gene would have severe phenotypes. This work describes the characterization of an allelic series of Arabidopsis reduced epidermal fluorescence 3 (ref3) mutants, each of which harbor mis-sense mutations in C4H (At2g30490). Heterologous expression of the mutant proteins in Escherichia coli yields enzymes that exhibit P420 spectra, indicative of mis-folded proteins, or have limited ability to bind substrate, indicating that the mutations we have identified affect protein stability and/or enzyme function. In agreement with the early position of C4H in phenylpropanoid metabolism, ref3 mutant plants accumulate decreased levels of several different classes of phenylpropanoid end-products, and exhibit reduced lignin deposition and altered lignin monomer content. Furthermore, these plants accumulate a novel hydroxycinnamic ester, cinnamoylmalate, which is not found in the wild type. The decreased C4H activity in ref3 also causes pleiotropic phenotypes, including dwarfism, male sterility and the development of swellings at branch junctions. Together, these observations indicate that C4H function is critical to the normal biochemistry and development of Arabidopsis. [source]


    Inactivation of the UGPase1 gene causes genic male sterility and endosperm chalkiness in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

    THE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008
    Mi-Ok Woo
    Summary A rice genic male-sterility gene ms-h is recessive and has a pleiotropic effect on the chalky endosperm. After fine mapping, nucleotide sequencing analysis of the ms-h gene revealed a single nucleotide substitution at the 3,-splice junction of the 14th intron of the UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase 1 (UGPase1; EC2.7.7.9) gene, which causes the expression of two mature transcripts with abnormal sizes caused by the aberrant splicing. An in vitro functional assay showed that both proteins encoded by the two abnormal transcripts have no UGPase activity. The suppression of UGPase by the introduction of a UGPase1-RNAi construct in wild-type plants nearly eliminated seed set because of the male defect, with developmental retardation similar to the ms-h mutant phenotype, whereas overexpression of UGPase1 in ms-h mutant plants restored male fertility and the transformants produced T1 seeds that segregated into normal and chalky endosperms. In addition, both phenotypes were co-segregated with the UGPase1 transgene in segregating T1 plants, which demonstrates that UGPase1 has functional roles in both male sterility and the development of a chalky endosperm. Our results suggest that UGPase1 plays a key role in pollen development as well as seed carbohydrate metabolism. [source]