The MAP3K-Coding () Gene Is Essential to the Formation of Unreduced Embryo Sacs in

Overview

Journal Front Plant Sci

Date 2018 Nov 9

PMID 30405677

Citations 19

Authors

Micaela Mancini

Hugo Permingeat

Carolina Colono

Lorena Siena

Fulvio Pupilli

Celeste Azzaro

Diva Maria de Alencar Dusi

Vera Tavares de Campos Carneiro

Maricel Podio

Jose Guillermo Seijo

Ana Maria Gonzalez

Silvina A Felitti

Juan Pablo A Ortiz

Olivier Leblanc

Silvina C Pessino

Affiliations

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Abstract

Apomixis is a clonal mode of reproduction via seeds, which results from the failure of meiosis and fertilization in the sexual female reproductive pathway. In previous transcriptomic surveys, we identified a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (N46) displaying differential representation in florets of sexual and apomictic genotypes. Here, we retrieved and characterized the N46 full cDNA sequence from sexual and apomictic floral transcriptomes. Phylogenetic analyses showed that N46 was a member of the family, which was re-named (). Differential expression in florets of sexual and apomictic plants was confirmed by qPCR. hybridization experiments revealed expression in the nucellus of aposporous plants' ovules, which was absent in sexual plants. RNAi inhibition of expression in two apomictic genotypes resulted in significantly reduced rates of aposporous embryo sac formation, with respect to the level detected in wild type aposporous plants and transformation controls. The locus segregated independently of apospory. However, a probe derived from a related long non-coding RNA sequence () revealed RFLP bands cosegregating with the apospory-controlling region (ACR). is expressed in florets of apomictic plants only. Our results indicate that the activity of in the nucellus of apomictic plants is necessary to form non-reduced embryo sacs and that a long non-coding sequence with regulatory potential is similar to sequences located within the ACR.

Citing Articles

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