The transcription factor GATA10 regulates fertility conversion of a two-line hybrid tms5 mutant rice via the modulation of Ub expression.

The thermosensitive genic male sterile 5 (tms5) mutation causes thermosensitive genic male sterility in rice (Oryza sativa) through loss of RNase Z function, which influences ubiquitin fusion ribosomal protein L40 (Ub ) messenger RNA levels during male development. Here, we used ATAC-seq, combined with analysis of H3K9ac and H3K4me2, to identify changes in accessible chromatin during fertility conversion of the two-line hybrid rice Wuxiang S (WXS) derived from a mutant tms5 allele. Furthermore, RNA-seq and bioinformatic analyses identified specific transcription factors (TFs) in differentially accessible chromatin regions. Among these TFs, only GATA10 targeted Ub . Osgata10 knockout mutations, which resulted in low expression of Ub and a tendency toward male fertility, confirmed that GATA10 regulated fertility conversion via the modulation of Ub . Meanwhile, GATA10 acted as a mediator for interactions with ERF65, which revealed that transcriptional regulation is a complex process involving multiple complexes of TFs, namely TF modules. It appears that the ERF141/MADS7/MADS50/MYB modules affect metabolic processes that control anther and pollen development, especially cell wall formation. Our analysis revealed that these modules directly or indirectly affect metabolic pathway-related genes to coordinate plant growth with proper anther development, and furthermore, that GATA10 regulates fertility conversion via the modulation of Ub expression.