scholarly journals A Duplicated Copy of the Meiotic Gene ZIP4 Preserves up to 50% Pollen Viability and Grain Number in Polyploid Wheat

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 290
Author(s):  
Abdul Kader Alabdullah ◽  
Graham Moore ◽  
Azahara C. Martín
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Viability ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Wheat Chromosome ◽  
Grain Number ◽  
Meiotic Gene ◽  
Chromosome 5B ◽  
Mutant Pollen ◽  
Female Gametogenesis ◽  
Chromosome 3B

Although most flowering plants are polyploid, little is known of how the meiotic process evolves after polyploidisation to stabilise and preserve fertility. On wheat polyploidisation, the major meiotic gene ZIP4 on chromosome 3B duplicated onto 5B and diverged (TaZIP4-B2). TaZIP4-B2 was recently shown to promote homologous pairing, synapsis and crossover, and suppress homoeologous crossover. We therefore suspected that these meiotic stabilising effects could be important for preserving wheat fertility. A CRISPR Tazip4-B2 mutant was exploited to assess the contribution of the 5B duplicated ZIP4 copy in maintaining pollen viability and grain setting. Analysis demonstrated abnormalities in 56% of meiocytes in the Tazip4-B2 mutant, with micronuclei in 50% of tetrads, reduced size in 48% of pollen grains and a near 50% reduction in grain number. Further studies showed that most of the reduced grain number occurred when Tazip4-B2 mutant plants were pollinated with the less viable Tazip4-B2 mutant pollen rather than with wild type pollen, suggesting that the stabilising effect of TaZIP4-B2 on meiosis has a greater consequence in subsequent male, rather than female gametogenesis. These studies reveal the extraordinary value of the wheat chromosome 5B TaZIP4-B2 duplication to agriculture and human nutrition. Future studies should further investigate the role of TaZIP4-B2 on female fertility and assess whether different TaZIP4-B2 alleles exhibit variable effects on meiotic stabilisation and/or resistance to temperature change.

scholarly journals A duplicated copy of the meiotic gene ZIP4 preserves up to 50% pollen viability and grain number in polyploid wheat

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Kader Alabdullah ◽  
Graham Moore ◽  
Azahara C. Martín
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Viability ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Wheat Chromosome ◽  
Gene Copy ◽  
List Type ◽  
Grain Number ◽  
Meiotic Gene ◽  
Chromosome 5B ◽  
Female Gametogenesis ◽  
Chromosome 3B

SummaryAlthough most flowering plants are polyploid, little is known of how the meiotic process evolved to stabilise and preserve polyploid fertility. On wheat polyploidisation, the major meiotic gene ZIP4 on chromosome 3B duplicated onto 5B and subsequently diverged. This 5B meiotic gene copy (TaZIP4-B2) was recently shown to promote homologous pairing, synapsis and crossover, and suppress homoeologous crossover. We therefore suspected that these stabilising effects on meiosis could be important for the preservation of wheat polyploid fertility.A CRISPR Tazip4-B2 mutant was exploited to assess the contribution of the 5B duplicated ZIP4 copy in maintaining pollen viability and grain setting.Analysis demonstrated abnormalities in 56% of meiocytes in the Tazip4-B2 mutant, with micronuclei in 50% of tetrads, reduced size in 48% of pollen grains and a near 50% reduction in grain number. Further studies showed that most of the reduced grain number resulted from pollination with less viable pollen, suggesting that the stabilising effect of TaZIP4-B2 on meiosis has a greater consequence in subsequent male, rather than female gametogenesis.These studies reveal the extraordinary value of the wheat chromosome 5B TaZIP4-B2 duplication to agriculture and human nutrition. Future studies should assess whether different TaZIP4-B2 alleles exhibit variable effects on meiotic stabilisation and/or resistance to temperature change.

scholarly journals An L-type lectin receptor-like kinase promotes starch accumulation during rice pollen maturation

Development ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. dev.196378
Author(s):  
Zhiyuan He ◽  
Ting Zou ◽  
Qiao Xiao ◽  
Guoqiang Yuan ◽  
Miaomiao Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Starch Synthesis ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Starch Accumulation ◽  
Male Sterile ◽  
Pollen Maturation ◽  
Lectin Receptor ◽  
Rice Mutant ◽  
Receptor Like Kinase ◽  
Mutant Pollen

Starch accumulation is key for the maturity of rice pollen grains; however, the regulatory mechanism underlying this process remains unknown. Here, we isolated a male-sterile rice mutant, abnormal pollen 1 (ap1), which produces nonviable pollen grains with defective starch accumulation. Functional analysis revealed that AP1 encodes an active L-type lectin receptor-like kinase (L-LecRLK). AP1 is localized to the plasma membrane and its transcript is highly accumulated in pollen during the starch synthesis phase. RNA-seq and phosphoproteomic analysis revealed that the expression/phosphorylation levels of numerous genes/proteins involved in starch and sucrose metabolism pathway were significantly altered in the mutant pollen, including a known rice UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (OsUGP2). We further found that AP1 physically interacts with OsUGP2 to elevate its enzymatic activity likely through targeted phosphorylation. These findings revealed a novel role of L-LecRLK in controlling pollen maturity via modulating sucrose and starch metabolism.

Triploidy causes sexual infertility in Cyrtanthus breviflorus (Amaryllidaceae)

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Ramsey ◽  
Glenda Vaughton ◽  
Glendon D. Ascough ◽  
Steven D. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Fruit Set ◽  
Pollen Viability ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Clonal Plants ◽  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Sexual And Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Challenging Question

The balance between sexual and asexual reproduction can vary markedly in clonal plants. At one extreme, plants are sexually infertile and reproduction is solely clonal. Infertility can be caused by environmental and/or genetic factors, but the role of each is often unknown. Here we determine variation in sexual reproduction and explore the underlying factors causing sexual infertility in Cyrtanthus breviflorus Harv. We examined open- and cross-pollinated fruit set, ploidy using flow cytometry, pollen viability, pollinator visits to flowers and pollen deposition onto stigmas. One population was sexually infertile; no plants produced fruit. Three populations were sexually fertile; >98% of plants produced fruit. Percent pollen viability differed between infertile (18%) and fertile (97%) populations. The most likely cause of infertility was unequal ploidy. Plants in the infertile population were triploid, whereas those in fertile populations were diploid. Pollination factors were not related to infertility. In infertile and fertile populations, pollen-collecting insects visited flowers frequently, depositing 4-fold more pollen grains onto stigmas than the number of ovules per flower. Our study is the first to demonstrate infertility and triploidy in C. breviflorus. How triploidy became established despite high levels of pollinator activity remains a challenging question.

scholarly journals Evidence for improved pollen viability as the mechanism for film antitranspirant mitigation of drought damage to wheat yield

2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minuka M. Weerasinghe ◽  
Peter S. Kettlewell ◽  
Ivan G. Grove ◽  
Martin C. Hare
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Pollen Viability ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Spray Application ◽  
Grain Number ◽  
Climatic Zones ◽  
Boot Stage ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Drought Damage

Application of film antitranspirant to wheat during late stem extension reduces drought damage to yield, but the mechanism is unknown. Field experiments under rain shelters were conducted over 3 years to test the hypothesis that film antitranspirant applied before meiosis alleviates drought-induced losses of pollen viability, grain number and yield. The film antitranspirant di-1-p-menthene was applied at third-node stage, and meiosis occurred at the early boot stage, with a range of 11–16 days after spray application in different years. Irrigated, unsprayed plots were included under the rain-shelters, and pollen viability, measured in 2 years in these plots, averaged 95.3%. Drought reduced pollen viability to 80.1% in unirrigated, unsprayed plots, but only to 88.6% in unirrigated plots treated with film antitranspirant. Grain number and yield of irrigated plots, measured in all years, were 16 529 m–2 and 9.55 t ha–1, respectively, on average. These were reduced by drought to 11 410 m–2 and 6.31 t ha–1 in unirrigated, unsprayed plots, but only to 12 878 m–2 and 6.97 t ha–1 in unirrigated plots treated with film antitranspirant. Thus compared with unirrigated, unsprayed plots, antitranspirant gave a grain yield benefit of 0.66 t ha–1. Further work is needed to validate the pollen viability mechanism in different climatic zones and with a wide range of cultivars.

scholarly journals Here, there and everywhere – the importance of neutral lipids in plant growth and development

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Zienkiewicz ◽  
Marta Saldat ◽  
Krzysztof Zienkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Plant Life ◽  
Plant Environment ◽  
Plant Life Cycle ◽  
Diverse Plant

In plants, lipids serve as one of the major and vital cellular constituents. Neutral lipids reserves play an essential role in the plant life cycle by providing carbon and energy equivalents for periods of active metabolism. The most common form of lipid storage are triacylglycerols (TAGs) packed into specialized organelles called lipid droplets (LDs). They have been observed in diverse plant organs and tissues, like oil seeds or pollen grains. LDs consist of a core, composed mostly of TAGs, enclosed by a single layer of phospholipids that is decorated by a unique set of structural proteins. Moreover, the recent advances in exploration of LDs proteome revealed a plethora of diverse proteins interacting with LDs. This is likely the result of a highly dynamic nature of these organelles and their involvement in many diverse aspect of cellular metabolism, tightly synchronized with plant developmental programs and directly related to plant-environment interactions. In this review we summarize and discuss the current progress in understanding the role of LDs and their cargo during plants life cycle, with a special emphasis on developmental aspects.

scholarly journals Biology of Flowering, Fruit and Viability of Pollen of Varieties and Forms of Quince Cultivated on the Territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 64-69
Author(s):  
L. Bayramov
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Fertility ◽  
Pollen Germination ◽  
Glucose Solution ◽  
Pollen Viability ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Water Control ◽  
Germinated Pollen ◽  
Autonomous Republic

Abstract. The zones of distribution of varieties and forms of quince on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic have been established, phenological observations have been carried out, their flowering and fruiting have been studied. On the territory of the Autonomous Republic, flowering of varieties and forms of quince begins in the second decade of April, depending on the distribution zone, with an average daily temperature of 12–13 °C and lasts 12–13 days, depending on weather conditions. Each flower has 10–12 stamens arranged in one row. The article also studied the viability of pollen in a number of quince varieties. Pollen viability was studied in the varieties Sary, Tursh, Ordubad, Gara and wild forms. Pollen fertility was determined by staining with acetocarmine. Pollen germinates in 2–5–10–15 and 20% glucose solution. Counting of germinated pollen grains was carried out under a microscope. The study showed that of all the experimental varieties, the pollen fertility of the Sary quince and Tursh quince varieties is high (up to 96.6–97.1%). The best medium for the germination of quince pollen is a 10–15% glucose solution. Pollen germination in this solution reaches 47.4–88.0%. In distilled water (control), the germination of quince pollen reached from 9.7% to 35.6% for varieties. Quince pollen remains viable for 31–43 days.

scholarly journals Flowering Biology of Rhododendron pulchrum

Horticulturae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 508
Author(s):  
Jie Qiu ◽  
Chao Gao ◽  
Hongli Wei ◽  
Biao Wang ◽  
Yang Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorimetric Assay ◽  
Pollen Viability ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Experimental Period ◽  
Polar Axis ◽  
Flowering Phenology ◽  
Mtt Colorimetric Assay ◽  
Single Flower ◽  
Axis Length ◽  
To Receive

To study the flowering biology of Rhododendron pulchrum, we used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and paraffin sectioning to observe the microstructures of its floral organs, a methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) colorimetric assay to detect pollen viability in different periods, continuous observations to study flowering phenology, and artificial pollination and a benzidine-hydrogen peroxide method to determine stigma receptivity. R. pulchrum exhibited a centralized flowering phenology. The protogynous stigmas of R. pulchrum were able to receive pollen before flowering. The pollen grains of R. pulchrum fused into tetrads, the average ratio of the polar axis length to the equatorial axis length (P/E) was 1.05, and the pollen viability was highest in the initial flowering period, reaching 88.98%. The pollen/ovule (P/O) ratio was 266–328, and the outcrossing index (OCI) was 4; the vitality of R. pulchrum pollen remained high in the initial flowering and blooming periods. Compared with the lifespan of a single flower, pollen vitality remained high for most of the experimental period, thereby improving male fitness. The P/O ratio suggests that R. pulchrum may have a facultative outcrossing breeding system. The OCI estimation suggests that R. pulchrum is partially self-compatible, most likely requiring pollinators to complete pollination.

scholarly journals Impact of Manganese on Pollen Germination and Tube Growth in Lily

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Sawidis ◽  
Gülriz Baycu ◽  
Elżbieta Weryszko-Chmielewska ◽  
Aneta Sulborska
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Tube ◽  
Pollen Germination ◽  
Surrounding Medium ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Lilium Longiflorum ◽  
Tube Growth ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Main Effect

Abstract In vitro culture of Lilium longiflorum pollen grains was carried out to determine the role of manganese in pollen germination and pollen tube growth. Pollen germination was adversely affected by the presence of manganese (>10 −8 M), whereas low concentrations (10 −12 –10 −10 M) stimulated the process. Manganese caused morphological anomalies during tube growth, characterized by irregular pollen tube thickening and swollen tips. The main effect was the anomalous cell wall formation at the tip, in which the presence of several organelles reduced the number of secretory vesicles. A loose network of fibrillar material and spherical aggregates, mostly in the tip region, was detected, and this material was progressively loosened into the surrounding medium. As a response to potential toxicity, the excess manganese was isolated in vacuoles, which formed an internal barrier against penetration of manganese to the tip area. Elevated manganese concentrations might affect plant reproduction, resulting in anomalies in gamete development. Consequently, the loss in genetic diversity and decreased fruit set ultimately lower yield.

scholarly journals Reproductive characterization of interspecific hybrids among Capsicum species

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Eduardo da Silva Monteiro ◽  
Telma Nair Santana Pereira ◽  
Karina Pereira de Campos
Keyword(s):  
Male Sterility ◽  
Interspecific Hybrids ◽  
Pollen Viability ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Male Sterile ◽  
Viable Pollen ◽  
Hybrid Combination ◽  
Capsicum Species ◽  
The Cross

The objective of this study was the reproductive characterization of Capsicum accessions as well as of interspecific hybrids, based on pollen viability. Hybrids were obtained between Capsicum species. Pollen viability was high in most accessions, indicating that meiosis is normal, resulting in viable pollen grains. The pollen viability of species C. pubescens was the lowest (27 %). The interspecific hybrids had varying degrees of pollen viability, from fertile combinations (C. chinense x C. frutescens and C. annuum x C. baccatum) to male sterile combinations. Pollen viability also varied within the hybrid combination according to accessions used in the cross. Results indicate that male sterility is one of the incompatibility barriers among Capsicum species since hybrids can be established, but may be male sterile.

Drosophila melanogaster Importin α1 and α3 Can Replace Importin α2 During Spermatogenesis but Not Oogenesis

Genetics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Adam Mason ◽  
Robert J Fleming ◽  
David S Goldfarb
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Female Sterility ◽  
Degenerate Pcr ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Importin Α ◽  
Localization Signal ◽  
Male And Female Sterility ◽  
A Site ◽  
Female Gametogenesis

Abstract Importin α’s mediate the nuclear transport of many classical nuclear localization signal (cNLS)-containing proteins. Multicellular animals contain multiple importin α genes, most of which fall into three conventional phylogenetic clades, here designated α1, α2, and α3. Using degenerate PCR we cloned Drosophila melanogaster importin α1, α2, and α3 genes, demonstrating that the complete conventional importin α gene family arose prior to the split between invertebrates and vertebrates. We have begun to analyze the genetic interactions among conventional importin α genes by studying their capacity to rescue the male and female sterility of importin α2 null flies. The sterility of α2 null males was rescued to similar extents by importin α1, α2, and α3 transgenes, suggesting that all three conventional importin α’s are capable of performing the important role of importin α2 during spermatogenesis. In contrast, sterility of α2 null females was rescued only by importin α2 transgenes, suggesting that it plays a paralog-specific role in oogenesis. Female infertility was also rescued by a mutant importin α2 transgene lacking a site that is normally phosphorylated in ovaries. These rescue experiments suggest that male and female gametogenesis have distinct requirements for importin α2.

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