Liu Zhongyan, Hu Lingling, Wang Xiaoxia, Zhang Li, Niu Fuqiang, Zhang Lingli, Song Xiyue
College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China; Xianyang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China.
College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
Plant Physiol Biochem. 2025 Jul;224:109890. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.109890. Epub 2025 Apr 5.
Male sterility is one of the key traits to improve wheat yield by utilizing heterosis, which is usually caused by pollen abortion. NAC (NAM/ATAF1/ATAF2/CUC2) transcription factors (TFs), one of the largest families of specific TFs in plants, play a significant role in various aspects of plant growth and development, particularly in flower development. Therefore, it is essential to investigate NAC TFs involved in pollen development and their functions for male fertility. In this study, we isolated TaNAC-5A from the anther of K-TCMS (thermo-sensitive male sterility with Aegilops kotschyi cytoplasm) line KTM3315A in wheat and found that TaNAC-5A plays a role in male fertility conversion. Quantitative real-time PCR and β-glucuronidase staining analyses showed high expression levels of TaNAC-5A in anthers. Sequence structure characterization revealed that TaNAC-5A has five domains (A-E) and belongs to the NAM subfamily. Subcellular localization results indicated that the TaNAC-5A protein was localized to the nucleus. Silencing TaNAC-5A using barley tobacco mosaic virus (BSMV) resulted in abnormal anther development. Furthermore, significant changes were observed in the transcription levels of genes involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) synthesis (TaRBOHD, TaRBOHI, TaNOX10) and genes encoding antioxidant enzymes (TaPOD, TaSOD, TaCAT) in silenced plants, accompanied by a marked accumulation of ROS. These results suggest that TaNAC-5A may influence anther development in K-TCMS wheat by regulating ROS levels. This study advances our understanding of NAC transcription factors in plant reproductive development and provides insights for hybrid wheat breeding strategies.
雄性不育是利用杂种优势提高小麦产量的关键性状之一，通常由花粉败育引起。NAC（NAM/ATAF1/ATAF2/CUC2）转录因子是植物中最大的特异性转录因子家族之一，在植物生长发育的各个方面发挥着重要作用，尤其是在花发育方面。因此，研究参与花粉发育的NAC转录因子及其对雄性育性的功能至关重要。在本研究中，我们从小麦K型温敏雄性不育系KTM3315A（具有节节麦细胞质的温敏雄性不育系）的花药中分离出TaNAC-5A，并发现TaNAC-5A在雄性育性转换中发挥作用。定量实时PCR和β-葡萄糖醛酸酶染色分析表明TaNAC-5A在花药中高表达。序列结构表征显示TaNAC-5A有五个结构域（A-E），属于NAM亚家族。亚细胞定位结果表明TaNAC-5A蛋白定位于细胞核。利用大麦烟草花叶病毒（BSMV）沉默TaNAC-5A导致花药发育异常。此外，在沉默植株中，参与活性氧（ROS）合成的基因（TaRBOHD、TaRBOHI、TaNOX10）和编码抗氧化酶的基因（TaPOD、TaSOD、TaCAT）的转录水平发生了显著变化，同时伴随着ROS的显著积累。这些结果表明，TaNAC-5A可能通过调节ROS水平影响K型温敏雄性不育小麦的花药发育。本研究增进了我们对NAC转录因子在植物生殖发育中的理解，并为杂交小麦育种策略提供了见解。
