The role of coxI-associated repeated sequences in plant mitochondrial DNA rearrangements and radish cytoplasmic male sterility

Current understanding of male sterility systems in vegetable Brassicas and their exploitation in hybrid breeding

Overview of the current status of GMS and CMS systems available in Brassica vegetables, their molecular mechanism, wild sources of sterile cytoplasm and exploitation of male sterility in hybrid breeding. The predominantly herbaceous family Brassicaceae (crucifers or mustard family) encompasses over 3700 species, and many of them are scientifically and economically important. The genus Brassica is an economically important genus within the tribe Brassicaceae that comprises important vegetable, oilseed and fodder crops. Brassica vegetables display strong hybrid vigor, and heterosis breeding is the integral part in their improvement. Commercial production of F₁ hybrid seeds in Brassica vegetables requires an effective male sterility system. Among the available male sterility systems, cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is the most widely exploited in Brassica vegetables. This system is maternally inherited and studied intensively. A limited number of reports about the genic male sterility (GMS) are available in Brassica vegetables. The GMS system is reported to be dominant, recessive and trirecessive in nature in different species. In this review, we discuss the available male sterility systems in Brassica vegetables and their potential use in hybrid breeding. The molecular mechanism of mt-CMS and causal mitochondrial genes of CMS has been discussed in detail. Finally, the exploitation of male sterility system in heterosis breeding of Brassica vegetables, future prospects and need for further understanding of these systems are highlighted.

Proteomic analysis reveals strong mitochondrial involvement in cytoplasmic male sterility of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

Although cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is widely used for developing pepper hybrids, its molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we used a high-throughput proteomics method called label-free to compare protein abundance across a pepper CMS line (A-line) and its isogenic maintainer line (B-line). Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD006104. Approximately 324 differentially abundant protein species were identified and quantified; among which, 47 were up-accumulated and 140 were down-accumulated in the A-line; additionally, 75 and 62 protein species were specifically accumulated in the A-line and B-line, respectively. Protein species involved in pollen exine formation, pyruvate metabolic processes, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the mitochondrial electron transport chain, and oxidative stress response were observed to be differentially accumulated between A-line and B-line, suggesting their potential roles in the regulation of pepper pollen abortion. Based on our data, we proposed a potential regulatory network for pepper CMS that unifies these processes.

BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Artificial emasculation is a major obstacle in pepper hybrid breeding for its high labor cost and poor seed purity. While the use of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) in hybrid system is seriously frustrated because a long time is needed to cultivate male sterility line and its isogenic restore line. Transgenic technology is an effective and rapid method to obtain male sterility lines and its widely application has very important significance in speeding up breeding process in pepper. Although numerous studies have been conducted to select the genes related to male sterility, the molecular mechanism of cytoplasmic male sterility in pepper remains unknown. In this study, we used the high-throughput proteomic method called "label-free", coupled with liquid chromatography-quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), to perform a novel comparison of expression profiles in a CMS pepper line and its maintainer line. Based on our results, we proposed a potential regulated protein network involved in pollen development as a novel mechanism of pepper CMS.

A complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Ogura-type male-sterile cytoplasm and its comparative analysis with that of normal cytoplasm in radish (Raphanus sativus L.)

BACKGROUND

Plant mitochondrial genome has unique features such as large size, frequent recombination and incorporation of foreign DNA. Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is caused by rearrangement of the mitochondrial genome, and a novel chimeric open reading frame (ORF) created by shuffling of endogenous sequences is often responsible for CMS. The Ogura-type male-sterile cytoplasm is one of the most extensively studied cytoplasms in Brassicaceae. Although the gene orf138 has been isolated as a determinant of Ogura-type CMS, no homologous sequence to orf138 has been found in public databases. Therefore, how orf138 sequence was created is a mystery. In this study, we determined the complete nucleotide sequence of two radish mitochondrial genomes, namely, Ogura- and normal-type genomes, and analyzed them to reveal the origin of the gene orf138.

RESULTS

Ogura- and normal-type mitochondrial genomes were assembled to 258,426-bp and 244,036-bp circular sequences, respectively. Normal-type mitochondrial genome contained 33 protein-coding and three rRNA genes, which are well conserved with the reported mitochondrial genome of rapeseed. Ogura-type genomes contained same genes and additional atp9. As for tRNA, normal-type contained 17 tRNAs, while Ogura-type contained 17 tRNAs and one additional trnfM. The gene orf138 was specific to Ogura-type mitochondrial genome, and no sequence homologous to it was found in normal-type genome. Comparative analysis of the two genomes revealed that radish mitochondrial genome consists of 11 syntenic regions (length >3 kb, similarity >99.9%). It was shown that short repeats and overlapped repeats present in the edge of syntenic regions were involved in recombination events during evolution to interconvert two types of mitochondrial genome. Ogura-type mitochondrial genome has four unique regions (2,803 bp, 1,601 bp, 451 bp and 15,255 bp in size) that are non-syntenic to normal-type genome, and the gene orf138 was found to be located at the edge of the largest unique region. Blast analysis performed to assign the unique regions showed that about 80% of the region was covered by short homologous sequences to the mitochondrial sequences of normal-type radish or other reported Brassicaceae species, although no homology was found for the remaining 20% of sequences.

CONCLUSIONS

Ogura-type mitochondrial genome was highly rearranged compared with the normal-type genome by recombination through one large repeat and multiple short repeats. The rearrangement has produced four unique regions in Ogura-type mitochondrial genome, and most of the unique regions are composed of known Brassicaceae mitochondrial sequences. This suggests that the regions unique to the Ogura-type genome were generated by integration and shuffling of pre-existing mitochondrial sequences during the evolution of Brassicaceae, and novel genes such as orf138 could have been created by the shuffling process of mitochondrial genome.

Homeotic-like modification of stamens to petals is associated with aberrant mitochondrial gene expression in cytoplasmic male sterile Ogura Brassica juncea

We have previously reported correction of severe leaf chlorosis in the cytoplasmic male sterile Ogura (also called Ogu) Brassica juncea line carrying Ogura cytoplasm by plastid substitution via protoplast fusion. Two cybrids obtained from the fusion experiment, Og1 and Og2, were green and carried the plastid genome of B. juncea cv. RLM198. While Og1 displayed normal flower morphology comparable to that of its euplasmic B. juncea counterpart except for sterile anthers, Og2 retained homeotic-like floral modification of stamens to petal-like structures and several other floral deformities observed in the chlorotic (Ogu) B. juncea cv. RLM198 (or OgRLM). With respect to the mitochondrial genome, Og1 showed 81% genetic similarity to the fertile cultivar RLM while Og2 showed 93% similarity to OgRLM. In spite of recombination and rearrangements in the mitochondrial genomes in the cybrids, expression patterns of 10 out of 11 mitochondrial genes were similar in all the three CMS lines; the only exception was atp6, whose expression was altered. While Og1 showed normal atp6 transcript similar to that in RLM, in Og2 and OgRLM weak expression of a longer transcript was detected. These results suggest that the homeotic-like changes in floral patterning leading to petaloid stamens in Og2 and OgRLM may be associated with aberrant mitochondrial gene expression.

Development of a molecular marker specific to a novel CMS line in radish (Raphanus sativus L.)

In this study, we have investigated the cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) of a novel male sterile radish line, designated NWB CMS. The NWB CMS was crossed with 16 fertile breeding lines, and all the progenies were completely male sterile. The degree of male sterility exhibited by NWB CMS is more than Ogura CMS from the Cruciferae family. The NWB CMS was found to induce 100% male sterility when crossed with all the tested breeding lines, whereas the Ogura CMS did not induce male sterility with any of the breeding lines. PCR analysis revealed that the molecular factor that influenced Ogura CMS, the orf138 gene, was absent in the NWB CMS line, and that the orf138 gene was not also expressed in this CMS line. In order to identify the cytoplasmic factors that confer male sterility in the NWB CMS line, we carried out RFLP analyses with 32 mitochondrial genes, all of which were used as probes. Fourteen genes exhibited polymorphisms between the NWB CMS line and other radish cultivars. Based on these RFLP data, intergenic primers were developed in order to amplify the intergenic regions between the polymorphic genes. Among these, a primer pair at the 3' region of the atp6 gene (5'-cgcttggactatgctatgtatga-3') and the 5' region of the nad3 gene (5'-tcatagagaaatccaatcgtcaa-3') produced a 2 kbp DNA fragment as a result of PCR. This DNA fragment was found to be specific to NWB CMS and was not present in other CMS types. It appears that this fragment could be used as a DNA marker to select NWB CMS line in a radish-breeding program.

Multiple origins of cultivated radishes as evidenced by a comparison of the structural variations in mitochondrial DNA of Raphanus

Configurations of mitochondrial coxI and orfB gene regions were analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in three wild and one cultivated species of Raphanus. A total of 207 individual plants from 60 accessions were used. PCR with five combinations of primers identified five different amplification patterns both in wild and cultivated radishes. While the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) type of Ogura male-sterile cytoplasm was distinguishable from the normal type, the mtDNAs of normal radishes were further classified into four types. The variations were common to wild and cultivated radishes, although contrasting features were found depending on the region of cultivation. These results provide evidence that cultivated radishes have multiple origins from various wild plants of Raphanus.

Alloplasmic male-sterile Brassica lines containing B. tournefortii mitochondria express an ORF 3' of the atp6 gene and a 32 kDa protein. off

Analyses of mitochondrial transcription and in organello translation were performed with the Brassica tournefortii cytoplasm. This cytoplasm causes alloplasmic male sterility when combined with the nuclear genomes of B. napus and B. juncea. Mitochondrial RNA and protein banding patterns were compared between the fertile wild species B. tournefortii, an alloplasmic male-sterile B. juncea line, an alloplasmic male-sterile B. napus line and an alloplasmic B. napus line with restored fertility. The analyses were carried out to identify differences in gene expression and to investigate whether alterations in gene expression accompanied male sterility. A difference in transcription patterns between the fertile B. tournefortii and the alloplasmic lines was found for the atp6 gene. The atp6 region was investigated further, since a similar alteration in atp6 transcription has been observed in two other Brassica cytoplasms which are associated with cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). The additional longer atp6 transcript detected in the alloplasmic lines in the present study was found to contain an open reading frame (ORF) located downstream of the atp6 gene. DNA sequencing revealed that the ORF, orf263, could encode a protein with a predicted molecular weight of about 29 kDa. In organello analysis detected two proteins of 29 and 32 kDa respectively, which were found only in the alloplasmic lines. Furthermore, the 32 kDa protein accompanied male sterility since it was absent in alloplasmic plants restored to fertility. The protein analysis might indicate that orf263 is translated and causes CMS.

Characterization of the radish mitochondrial nad3/rps12 locus: analysis of recombination repeats and RNA editing

In order to further investigate sequences that are responsible for low-frequency recombination in plant mitochondrial DNAs and RNA editing in radish mitochondria, the nad3/rps12 locus has been isolated and characterized from a normal cultivar of radish and the male-sterile Ogura cytoplasm. A repeated sequence that has been implicated in other radish mitochondrial DNA rearrangements was identified at the breakpoint between the two loci indicating that it was also involved in the nad3/rps12 rearrangement. Similar to some other radish mitochondrial genes, nad3/rps12 genomic sequences already contain several, but not all, of the bases that are typically edited in plant mitochondrial nad3 and rps12 genes. Analysis of nad3/rps12 cDNAs indicated that the mRNAs are not edited. One partially edited transcript was identified out of the twenty two that were examined. This finding, along with the observation that nad3/rps12 RNAs are present at very low levels, raises the possibility that radish mitochondria may not encode functional copies of these genes. Consistent with this hypothesis, DNA-blot analysis detects nad3/rps12 sequences in the nucleus.

Characterization of the mitochondrial orfB gene and its derivative, orf224, a chimeric open reading frame specific to one mitochondrial genome of the "Polima" male-sterile cytoplasm in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

orf224 is a novel reading frame present upstream of the atp6 gene in the mitochondria of "Polima" cms cytoplasm of rapeseed. In order to determine the origin of orf224, the sequences homologous to orf224 were isolated and characterized. Sequence analysis indicated that orf224 originated by recombination events involving the 5'-flanking region and the amino-terminal segment of the coding region of orf158 (well-known as orfB in other plants), part of exon 1 of the ribosomal protein S3 (rps3) gene, and an unidentified sequence. Transcripts of the orf158 gene were found to be edited at three positions, one of which induces an amino-acid change, while orf224 transcripts have only one RNA editing site within the region homologous to the rps3 gene. This editing site is also present in the proper rps3 transcripts. This result indicates that editing of orf224 occurred because of the sequence homology to rps3. Polyclonal antibodies prepared against a rapeseed ORF158 fusion protein specifically recognize a 18-kDa protein in the membrane fractions of mitochondria from both normal and cms rapeseed.

The Tokumasu radish mitochondrial genome contains two complete atp9 reading frames

Two copies of the gene atp9, encoding subunit 9 of the mitochondrial F1F0-ATPase, have been cloned from the Tokumasu radish (Raphanus sativus L.) cytoplasm. The genomic DNA and the corresponding cDNA sequences of the coding regions were determined. Both alleles contain a 222 bp long and well conserved atp9 reading frame, coding for a 74 amino acid polypeptide. The Tokumasu atp9-1 gene may have a unique N-terminal extension of 11 amino acid residue relative to other plant atp9 genes. In comparison of cDNA and genomic sequences four RNA editing events were found in both atp9 genes. Northern experiments indicate different transcription patterns for the two genes.

Mitochondrial DNA rearrangements: intracellular information system

The extent of mtDNA rearrangements has been analyzed in nDNA preparations of rat and human with a statistically representative group of oligonucleotides directed to two regions of mtDNA: genes for cytochrome oxidase subunits I and III. Human PCR preparations generated with oligonucleotides directed 'normally' showed the expected fragment for mtDNA and the presence of a plethora of fragments with rearrangements (deletions and insertions), in contrast to rat PCR preparations under the same reaction conditions in which these kinds of rearranged fragments were rarely observed. Both human and rat PCR preparations generated with oligonucleotides directed 'inversely' showed numerous fragments, some of which showed differences in copy number correlating with distinct phases during development/aging. Sequence analysis of some normal and rearranged fragments demonstrated in all cases DNA sequences 99% homologous with other mtDNA sequences at rearranged fragments. No evidence of nuclear DNA sequences was found. The following scheme is proposed for mtDNA rearrangements during the lifetime of an organism: variation in copy number of some fragments with inversions of mtDNA depends on the specific developmental/aging period; in old cells there is an increase in higher molecular weight mtDNA deletions. These findings strongly suggest that the mtDNA rearrangements play a role as an intracellular 'information system'.

Ogura cytoplasmic male-sterility (CMS)-associated orf138 is translated into a mitochondrial membrane polypeptide in male-sterile Brassica cybrids

Transcription of a putative mitochondrial gene (orf138) has previously been correlated with Ogura cytoplasmic male-sterility (CMS) in rapeseed cybrids. In this paper, studies performed on a Brassica cybrid with a different organization of the orf138 locus confirm this association. We also show that mitochondria isolated from male-sterile rapeseed plants synthesize a polypeptide of 19 kDa, which is absent in fertile revertants. Antibodies against a glutathione S-transferase-ORF138 fusion protein were raised to establish that this 19 kDa polypeptide is the product of orf138. The anti-ORF138 serum was used to demonstrate that the orf138 translation product occurs only in sterile cybrids and co-purifies with the mitochondrial membrane fraction.

Intron loss from the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 gene of lettuce mitochondrial DNA: evidence for homologous recombination of a cDNA intermediate

The mitochondrial gene coding for subunit 4 of the NADH dehydrogenase complex I (nad4) has been isolated and characterized from lettuce, Lactuca sativa. Analysis of nad4 genes in a number of plants by Southern hybridization had previously suggested that the intron content varied between species. Characterization of the lettuce gene confirms this observation. Lettuce nad4 contains two exons and one group IIA intron, whereas previously sequenced nad4 genes from turnip and wheat contain three group IIA introns. Northern analysis identified a transcript of 1600 nucleotides, which represents the mature nad4 mRNA and a primary transcript of 3200 nucleotides. Sequence analysis of lettuce and turnip nad4 cDNAs was used to confirm the intron/exon border sequences and to examine RNA editing patterns. Editing is observed at the 5' and 3' ends of the lettuce transcript, but is absent from sequences that correspond to exons two, three and the 5' end of exon four in turnip and wheat. In contrast, turnip transcripts are highly edited in this region, suggesting that homologous recombination of an edited and spliced cDNA intermediate was involved in the loss of introns two and three from an ancestral lettuce nad4 gene.

Molecular and biological studies on male-sterile cytoplasm in the Cruciferae. I. The origin and distribution of Ogura male-sterile cytoplasm in Japanese wild radishes (Raphanus sativus L.) revealed by PCR-aided assay of their mitochondrial DNAs

Ogura male-sterile cytoplasm was surveyed in common Japanese radish cultivars and in wild radishes growing in various localities in Japan. Mitochondrial (mt) DNA rearrangement involving the atp6 gene was used as a molecular marker. To detect the mtDNA rearrangement, polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were designed to amplify the upstream region of the atp6 gene. The oligonucleotides homologous to the following three regions were synthesized: (1) trnfM, (2) ORF105 and (3) atp6. PCRs were conducted with a pair of the first and the third primers to detect normal mtDNA, and with the second and the third primers for Ogura-type mtDNA. All 15 Japanese cultivars yielded an amplification product which was the same as that of normal mtDNA, whereas some wild radishes gave the product specific to Ogura mtDNA. Twenty-four populations of wild radish were classified into three groups according to the frequency of Ogura-type mtDNA: (1) in ten populations, all four plants analyzed per population had normal type mtDNA, (2) in five populations, only plants with Ogura-type mtDNA were found, and (3) nine populations included both normal and Oguratype mtDNAs. There were no geographical restrictions and no cline in the distribution of the plants with Ogura-type mtDNA. These results suggested that the Ogura-type male-sterile cytoplasm originated in wild radishes.

A high frequency of intergenomic mitochondrial recombination and an overall biased segregation of B. campestris or recombined B. campestris mitochondria were found in somatic hybrids made within Brassicaceae

Mitochondrial segregation and rearrangements were studied in regenerated somatic hybrids from seven different species combinations produced using reproducible and uniform methods. The interspecific hybridizations were made between closely or more distantly related species within the Brassicaceae and were exemplified by three intrageneric, two intergeneric and two intertribal species combinations. The intrageneric combinations were represented by Brassica campestris (+) B. oleracea, B. napus (+) B. nigra and B. napus (+) B. juncea (tournefortii) hybrids, the intergeneric combinations by B. napus (+) Raphanus sativus and B. napus (+) Eruca sativa hybrids, and the intertribal combinations by B. napus (+) Thlaspi perfoliatum and B. napus (+) Arabidopsis thaliana hybrids. In each species combination, one of the two mitochondrial genotypes was B. campestris since the B. napus cultivar used in the fusions contained this cytoplasm. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analyses were performed using DNA hybridization with nine different mitochondrial genes as probes. Among the various species combinations, 43-95% of the hybrids demonstrated mtDNA rearrangements. All examined B. campestris mtDNA regions could undergo intergenomic recombination since hybrid-specific fragments were found for all of the mtDNA probes analysed. Furthermore, hybrids with identical hybrid-specific fragments were found for all probes except cox II and rrn18/rrn5, supporting the suggestion that intergenomic recombination can involve specific sequences. A strong bias of hybrids having new atp A-or atp9-associated fragments observed in the intra- and intergeneric combinations could imply that these regions contain sequences that have a high reiteration number, which gives them a higher probability of recombining. A biased segregation of B. campestris-or B. campestris-like mitochondria was found in all combinations. A different degree of phylogenetic relatedness between the fusion partners did not have a significant influence on mitochondrial segregation in the hybrids in this study.

Subunit 6 of the Fo-ATP synthase complex from cytoplasmic male-sterile radish: RNA editing and NH2-terminal protein sequencing

RNA editing and NH2-terminal processing of subunit 6 (atp6) of the mitochondrial Fo-ATPase complex has been investigated for the normal (fertile) and Ogura (male-sterile) radish cytoplasms to determine if previously identified differences between the Ogura atp6 locus and its normal radish counterpart are associated with cytoplasmic male sterility. Analysis of cDNA clones from five different sterile and fertile radish lines identified one C-to-U transition, which results in the replacement of a proline with a serine, in several of the lines. No editing of atp6 transcripts was observed in two lines, Scarlet Knight (normal radish) and sterile CrGC15 (Ogura radish). This is the first example of a naturally occurring plant mitochondrial gene that is not edited. The Ogura atp6 polypeptide is synthesized with a predicted NH2-terminal extension of 174 amino acids in contrast to the nine amino acid extension found in normal radish. In spite of the lack of similarity between the two extensions, NH2-terminal sequence analysis indicates that both polypeptides are processed to yield identical core proteins with a serine as the NH2-terminal residue. These results indicate that ATPase subunit 6 is synthesized normally in Ogura radish, and that it is unlikely that the atp6 locus is associated with Ogura cytoplasmic male sterility.

Characterization of the radish mitochondrial orfB locus: possible relationship with male sterility in Ogura radish

The orfB locus of the normal (fertile) and Ogura (male-sterile) radish mitochondrial genomes has been characterized in order to determine if this region, which has previously been correlated with cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) in Brassica napus cybrids (Bonhomme et al. 1991; Temple et al. 1992), could also be involved in radish CMS. In normal radish, orfB is expressed as a 600-nucleotide (nt) transcript. In Ogura radish, orfB is present as the second gene of a 1200-nt transcript that also contains a 138-codon open reading frame (orf138). Sequences showing similarity to orf138 are present in normal radish, but are not expressed.

Group I introns in the liverwort mitochondrial genome: the gene coding for subunit 1 of cytochrome oxidase shares five intron positions with its fungal counterparts

The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from a liverwort, Marchantia polymorpha, contains thirty-two introns. Twenty-five of these introns possess the characteristic secondary structures and consensus sequences of group II introns. The remaining seven are group I introns, six of which happen to interrupt the gene coding for subunit 1 of cytochrome oxidase (cox1). Interestingly, the insertion sites of one group II and four group I introns in the cox1 gene coincide with those of the respective fungal mitochondrial interns. Moreover, comparison of the four group I introns with their fungal counterparts shows that group I introns inserted at identical genomic sites in different organisms are indeed related to one another, in terms of the peptide sequences generated from the complete or fragmental ORFs encoded by these introns. At the same time, the liverwort introns turned out to be more divergent from their fungal cognates than the latter are from one another. We therefore conclude that vertical transmission from a common ancestor organism is the simplest explanation for the presence of cognate introns in liverwort and fungal mitochondrial genomes.

RNA editing of rapeseed mitochondrial atp9 transcripts: RNA editing changes four amino acids, but termination codon is already encoded by genomic sequence

The gene encoding subunit 9 of Fo-ATPase of rapeseed mitochondria has been isolated. The complete genomic DNA sequence and cDNA sequence corresponding to the atp9 gene transcript have been determined by a method involving cDNA synthesis, using specific oligonucleotides as primers, followed by PCR amplification, cloning and sequencing of the amplification products. In comparison of cDNA sequences to genomic one, four modifications, C-to-U conversions, have been found. When compared with RNA editing patterns of atp9 transcripts among plant mitochondria, that of rapeseed atp9 transcript is more simple; there are only four editing sites on the coding region, and its termination codon is already encoded by genomic sequence.

Different CMS sources found in Beta vulgaris ssp maritima: mitochondrial variability in wild populations revealed by a rapid screening procedure

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation in natural Beta maritima populations has been characterized by way of Southern blot hybridizations of total DNA using non-radioactive probes and chemiluminescent detection. It was found that the previously described N ("normal") mitochondrial type could be subdivided into three subtypes. A new mitochondrial genotype (type R) was distinguished in addition to the previously described type S. Both are male-sterile cytoplasms and can produce a. segregation of sexual phenotypes in their progenies depending on the nuclear background. The populations contained at least two to four different mitochondrial genotypes.

Sequence and transcript analysis of the Nco2.5 Ogura-specific fragment correlated with cytoplasmic male sterility in Brassica cybrids

Sequence analysis of the Ogura-specific mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragment isolated previously from Brassica cybrids carrying Ogura cytoplasmic male sterility (cms) revealed a tRNA(fMet) sequence, a putative 138 amino acid open reading frame (orf138), and a 158 amino acid ORF (orf158) previously observed in mitochondrial genomes from several other plant species. Transcription mapping showed that both ORFs are present on a 1.4 kb cms-specific transcript. The orf158 sequence is also transcribed in fertile plants on a different mRNA, and thus is unlikely to be related to cms. On the other hand, fertile revertant plants lack transcripts of the orf138 sequence, whose possible role in the mechanism of Ogura cms is discussed.

Novel mitochondrial genomes in Brassica napus somatic hybrids

The mitochondrial genomes of nine male-fertile and two Ogura cytoplasmic male-sterile (cms) Brassica napus somatic hybrids were probed with 46 mitochondrial DNA fragments. The distribution of information obtained from each fusion partner was not random. Several regions, including the coxI gene and a major recombination repeat sequence, were always derived from the Brassica campestris fusion partner, and some regions were always derived from the Ogura mitochondrial genome. Novel fragments occurred in seven distinct regions. Some of the rearrangement breakpoints were located near the evolutionary breakpoints relating the mitochondrial genomes of the Brassica species. The sizes of the mitochondrial genomes in the somatic hybrids ranged from 224.8 to 285.3 kb. A direct correlation between a specific gene and the cms phenotype was not observed; however, a possible cms-associated region was identified. It corresponds to a region that was identified through analysis of fertile revertants from a cms B. napus cybrid.

Involvement of a large inverted repeated sequence in a recombinational rearrangement of the mitochondrial genome of the higher fungus Agrocybe aegerita

Southern hybridization of the total DNA of Agrocybe aegerita with cloned mitochondrial (mt) probes revealed a sequence homology between two distant mitochondrial restriction fragments. From the mtDNA restriction map and the distribution of restriction sites on the cross-hybridizing mitochondrial fragments, two copies of a large inverted repeated sequence (IR) of 3 kbp were located on the mitochondrial genome. These IR sequences divided the 80 kbp mtDNA into two single-copy regions of 24 kbp (SSC) and 50 kbp (LSC). For the first time in higher fungi, this IR sequence has been shown to be involved in an intramolecular homologous recombinational event. Such a rearrangement led to an inversion of the orientation of the two unique-copy regions, without any change in mtDNA complexity. The location of the recombinational event was compared with previously reported plant and fungal mitochondrial rearrangements and the potential role of the IR sequence was discussed.

Large size and complex structure of mitochondrial DNA in two nonflowering land plants

We report the first estimates of genome size and complexity for mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) from nonflowering land plants. The mtDNA of Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern) is approximately 300 kb in size, while that of Equisetum arvense (common horsetail) is at least 200 kb. Sufficient mtDNA of Onoclea was available to permit an estimation of the copy number and a linkage analysis of nine mitochondrial genes. Six of these genes appear to be present in only one or two copies in the Onoclea genome, whereas three other genes are present in multiple copies. Five of the approximately ten genes encoding 26S rRNA are located on a large, greater than 10 kb, dispersed repeat that also contains closely linked genes for 18S rRNA and the alpha subunit of ATPase (atpA). The other 26S genes belong to a second dispersed repeat family of greater than 8 kb whose elements do not contain any other identified genes. Because flowering plant mtDNAs are also large and contain dispersed, gene-containing, repeats, it appears that these features arose early in the evolution of land plants, or perhaps even in their green algal ancestors.