Journal
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
Volume 73, Issue 19, Pages 6800-6815Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac331
Keywords
Anther; DRP1; maize; male sterility; pollen exine; Ubisch bodies
Categories
Funding
- National Key Research and Development Program of China [2018YFA0901000, 2018YFA0901003]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31971959, 91935305]
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In this study, a novel maize sterility gene DRP1 is identified, which encodes a desiccation-related protein and is required for pollen exine development. The loss of function of DRP1 causes male sterility. Our findings suggest that DRP1 plays an important role in anther dehydration and may be involved in the adaptation of maize to different climatic regions.
Desiccation tolerance is a remarkable feature of pollen, seeds, and resurrection-type plants. Exposure to desiccation stress can cause sporophytic defects, resulting in male sterility. Here, we report the novel maize sterility gene DRP1 (Desiccation-Related Protein 1), which was identified by bulked-segregant analysis sequencing and encodes a desiccation-related protein. Loss of function of DRP1 results in abnormal Ubisch bodies, defective tectum of the pollen exine, and complete male sterility. Our results suggest that DRP1 may facilitate anther dehydration to maintain appropriate water status. DRP1 is a secretory protein that is specifically expressed in the tapetum and microspore from the tetrad to the uninucleate microspore stage. Differentially expressed genes in drp1 are enriched in Gene Ontology terms for pollen exine formation, polysaccharide catabolic process, extracellular region, and response to heat. In addition, DRP1 is a target of selection that appears to have played an important role in the spread of maize from tropical/subtropical to temperate regions. Taken together, our results suggest that DRP1 encodes a desiccation-related protein whose loss of function causes male sterility. Our findings provide a potential genetic resource that may be used to design crops for heterosis utilization. The novel maize sterility gene DRP1, a target of selection that encodes a desiccation-related protein, is required for Ubisch bodies and pollen exine development.
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