College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
Weiyang Extension Station for Agricultural Science and Technology, Xi'an, 710016 Shaanxi, China.
Gene. 2022 Jul 30;833:146596. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2022.146596. Epub 2022 May 19.
Thermo-sensitive cytoplasmic male sterility is of great significance to heterosis and hybrid seed production in wheat. Consequently, it is worthwhile to research the genes associated with male sterility. Although polygalacturonases (PGs) have been studied to play a crucial role in male reproduction of many plants, their functions in the reproductive development of wheat remain unclear. Here, TaPG (TraesCS7A02G404900) encoding a polygalacturonase was isolated from the anthers of KTM3315A, a wheat thermo-sensitive cytoplasmic male sterile with Aegilops kotschyi cytoplasm. Expression pattern analyses showed that TaPG was strongly expressed in fertile anthers and its protein was localized in the cell wall. Further verification via barley stripe mosaic virus revealed that the silencing of TaPG exhibited abnormal anthers, premature degradation of tapetum, pollen abortion, and defective pollen wall formation, resulting in the declination of fertility. Conclusively, our research suggested that TaPG contributed to the pollen development and male fertility, which will provide a novel insight into the fertility conversion of thermo-sensitive cytoplasmic male sterility in wheat.
热不稳定细胞质雄性不育在小麦杂种优势和杂交种子生产中具有重要意义。因此，研究与雄性不育相关的基因是值得的。虽然多聚半乳糖醛酸酶（PGs）已被研究在许多植物的雄性生殖中发挥关键作用，但它们在小麦生殖发育中的功能仍不清楚。在这里，从 KTM3315A 的花药中分离到一个编码多聚半乳糖醛酸酶的 TaPG（TraesCS7A02G404900），KTM3315A 是一种带有 Aegilops kotschyi 细胞质的小麦温敏细胞质雄性不育系。表达模式分析表明，TaPG 在可育花药中强烈表达，其蛋白定位于细胞壁中。通过大麦条纹花叶病毒的进一步验证表明，TaPG 的沉默导致花药异常、绒毡层过早降解、花粉败育和花粉壁形成缺陷，从而导致育性下降。总之，我们的研究表明 TaPG 有助于花粉发育和雄性育性，这将为小麦温敏细胞质雄性不育的育性转换提供新的见解。
