Deficiency of a triterpene pathway results in humidity-sensitive genic male sterility in rice

Zheyong Xue, Xia Xu, Yuan Zhou, Xiaoning Wang, Yingchun Zhang, Dan Liu, Binbin Zhao, Lixin Duan and Xiaoquan Qi ()
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Zheyong Xue: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xia Xu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yuan Zhou: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaoning Wang: Shandong University
Yingchun Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Dan Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Binbin Zhao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lixin Duan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaoquan Qi: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract In flowering plants, the pollen coat protects the released male germ cells from desiccation and damage during pollination. However, we know little about the mechanism by which the chemical composition of the pollen coat prevents dehydration of pollen grains. Here we report that deficiency of a grass conserved triterpene synthase, OsOSC12/OsPTS1, in rice leads to failure of pollen coat formation. The mutant plants are male sterile at low relative humidity (RH 80%). The lack of three major fatty acids in the pollen coat results in rapid dehydration of pollen grains. We show that applying mixtures of linolenic acid and palmitic acid or stearic acid are able to prevent over-dehydration of mutant pollen grains. We propose that humidity-sensitive genic male sterility (HGMS) could be a desirable trait for hybrid breeding in rice, wheat, maize, and other crops.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03048-8

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