1
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Mizuta Y, Sakakibara D, Nagahara S, Kaneshiro I, Nagae TT, Kurihara D, Higashiyama T. Deep imaging reveals dynamics and signaling in one-to-one pollen tube guidance. EMBO Rep 2024; 25:2529-2549. [PMID: 38773320 PMCID: PMC11169409 DOI: 10.1038/s44319-024-00151-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
In the pistil of flowering plants, each ovule usually associates with a single pollen tube for fertilization. This one-to-one pollen tube guidance, which contributes to polyspermy blocking and efficient seed production, is largely different from animal chemotaxis of many sperms to one egg. However, the functional mechanisms underlying the directional cues and polytubey blocks in the depths of the pistil remain unknown. Here, we develop a two-photon live imaging method to directly observe pollen tube guidance in the pistil of Arabidopsis thaliana, clarifying signaling and cellular behaviors in the one-to-one guidance. Ovules are suggested to emit multiple signals for pollen tubes, including an integument-dependent directional signal that reaches the inner surface of the septum and adhesion signals for emerged pollen tubes on the septum. Not only FERONIA in the septum but ovular gametophytic FERONIA and LORELEI, as well as FERONIA- and LORELEI-independent repulsion signal, are involved in polytubey blocks on the ovular funiculus. However, these funicular blocks are not strictly maintained in the first 45 min, explaining previous reports of polyspermy in flowering plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoko Mizuta
- Institute for Advanced Research (IAR), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan.
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan.
| | - Daigo Sakakibara
- Division of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8602, Japan
| | - Shiori Nagahara
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Ikuma Kaneshiro
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
- Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8602, Japan
- Research Center for Computational Science, Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8585, Japan
| | - Takuya T Nagae
- Division of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8602, Japan
| | - Daisuke Kurihara
- Institute for Advanced Research (IAR), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Higashiyama
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
- Division of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8602, Japan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bukyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
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2
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Meng JG, Li SZ, Li HJ. Central cell: the key to determine persistent pollen tube attraction or termination. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2024:10.1007/s11427-023-2534-2. [PMID: 38733514 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-023-2534-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Jiang-Guo Meng
- Center for Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation, Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation Western China (Chongqing) Science City, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Shi-Zhen Li
- Key Laboratory of Seed Innovation, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Center for Molecular Agrobiology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Hong-Ju Li
- Key Laboratory of Seed Innovation, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
- Center for Molecular Agrobiology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
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3
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Xu YJ, Luo T, Zhou PM, Wang WQ, Yang WC, Li HJ. Pollen-expressed RLCKs control pollen tube burst. PLANT COMMUNICATIONS 2024:100934. [PMID: 38689493 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2024.100934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
In angiosperms, the pollen tube enters the receptive synergid cell, where it ruptures to release its cytoplasm along with two sperm cells. This interaction is complex, and the exact signal transducers that trigger the bursting of pollen tubes are not well understood. In this study, we identify three homologous receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases (RLCKs) expressed in pollen tubes of Arabidopsis, Delayed Burst 1/2/3 (DEB1/2/3), which play a crucial role in this process. These genes produce proteins localized on the plasma membrane, and their knockout causes delayed pollen tube burst and entrance of additional pollen tubes into the embryo sac due to fertilization recovery. We show that DEBs interact with the Ca2+ pump ACA9, influencing the dynamics of cytoplasmic Ca2+ in pollen tubes through phosphorylation. These results highlight the importance of DEBs as key signal transducers and the critical function of the DEB-ACA9 axis in timely pollen tube burst in synergids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin-Jiao Xu
- Center for Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Ting Luo
- Center for Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Peng-Min Zhou
- Center for Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Wei-Qi Wang
- Center for Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Wei-Cai Yang
- Center for Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Hong-Ju Li
- Center for Molecular Agrobiology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Seed Innovation, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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4
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Zhong S, Zhao P, Peng X, Li HJ, Duan Q, Cheung AY. From gametes to zygote: Mechanistic advances and emerging possibilities in plant reproduction. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 195:4-35. [PMID: 38431529 PMCID: PMC11060694 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiae125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Zhong
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Peng Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xiongbo Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Hong-Ju Li
- Key Laboratory of Seed Innovation, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Center for Molecular Agrobiology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Qiaohong Duan
- College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, Shandong 271018, China
| | - Alice Y Cheung
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Plant Biology Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
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5
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Wang W, Malka R, Lindemeier M, Cyprys P, Tiedemann S, Sun K, Zhang X, Xiong H, Sprunck S, Sun MX. EGG CELL 1 contributes to egg-cell-dependent preferential fertilization in Arabidopsis. NATURE PLANTS 2024; 10:268-282. [PMID: 38287093 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-023-01616-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
During double fertilization in angiosperms, the pollen tube delivers two sperm cells into an embryo sac; one sperm cell fuses with an egg cell, and the other sperm cell fuses with the central cell. It has long been proposed that the preference for fusion with one or another female gamete cell depends on the sperm cells and occurs during gamete recognition. However, up to now, sperm-dependent preferential fertilization has not been demonstrated, and results on preferred fusion with either female gamete have remained conflicting. To investigate this topic, we generated Arabidopsis thaliana mutants that produce single sperm-like cells or whose egg cells are eliminated; we found that although the three different types of sperm-like cell are functionally equivalent in their ability to fertilize the egg and the central cell, each type of sperm-like cell fuses predominantly with the egg cell. This indicates that it is the egg cell that controls its preferential fertilization. We also found that sperm-activating small secreted EGG CELL 1 proteins are involved in the regulation of egg-cell-dependent preferential fertilization, revealing another important role for this protein family during double fertilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Raphael Malka
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Maria Lindemeier
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Philipp Cyprys
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sophie Tiedemann
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Kaiting Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xuecheng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Hanxian Xiong
- School of Life Science and Technology, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Stefanie Sprunck
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Meng-Xiang Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
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6
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Dresselhaus T, van der Linde K. Plant reproduction: Fertilization SALvaged by the central cell. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R1013-R1015. [PMID: 37816321 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
Flowering plants evolved glandular synergid cells assisting female gametes to attract pollen tubes carrying sperm cells. A recent study shows how central cells serve as a back-up to ensure pollen tube attraction and reproductive success in the absence of the assistants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Dresselhaus
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Karina van der Linde
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
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7
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Mao Y, Nakel T, Erbasol Serbes I, Joshi S, Tekleyohans DG, Baum T, Groß-Hardt R. ECS1 and ECS2 suppress polyspermy and the formation of haploid plants by promoting double fertilization. eLife 2023; 12:e85832. [PMID: 37489742 PMCID: PMC10421590 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The current pace of crop plant optimization is insufficient to meet future demands and there is an urgent need for novel breeding strategies. It was previously shown that plants tolerate the generation of triparental polyspermy-derived plants and that polyspermy can bypass hybridization barriers. Polyspermy thus has the potential to harness previously incompatible climate-adapted wild varieties for plant breeding. However, factors that influence polyspermy frequencies were not previously known. The endopeptidases ECS1 and ECS2 have been reported to prevent the attraction of supernumerary pollen tubes by cleaving the pollen tube attractant LURE1. Here, we show that these genes have an earlier function that is manifested by incomplete double fertilization in plants defective for both genes. In addition to supernumerary pollen tube attraction, ecs1 ecs2 mutants exhibit a delay in synergid disintegration, are susceptible to heterofertilization, and segregate haploid plants that lack a paternal genome contribution. Our results thus uncover ECS1 and ECS2 as the first female factors triggering the induction of maternal haploids. Capitalizing on a high-throughput polyspermy assay, we in addition show that the double mutant exhibits an increase in polyspermy frequencies. As both haploid induction and polyspermy are valuable breeding aims, our results open new avenues for accelerated generation of climate-adapted cultivars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanbo Mao
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular InteractionsBremenGermany
| | - Thomas Nakel
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular InteractionsBremenGermany
| | | | - Saurabh Joshi
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular InteractionsBremenGermany
| | | | - Thomas Baum
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular InteractionsBremenGermany
| | - Rita Groß-Hardt
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular InteractionsBremenGermany
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8
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Sugi N, Maruyama D. Exploring Novel Polytubey Reproduction Pathways Utilizing Cumulative Genetic Tools. PLANT & CELL PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 64:454-460. [PMID: 36943745 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcad021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
In the anthers and ovaries of flowers, pollen grains and embryo sacs are produced with uniform cell compositions. This stable gametogenesis enables elaborate interactions between male and female gametophytes after pollination, forming the highly successful sexual reproduction system in flowering plants. As most ovules are fertilized with a single pollen tube, the resulting genome set in the embryo and endosperm is determined in a single pattern by independent fertilization of the egg cell and central cell by two sperm cells. However, if ovules receive four sperm cells from two pollen tubes, the expected options for genome sets in the developing seeds would more than double. In wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana plants, around 5% of ovules receive two pollen tubes. Recent studies have elucidated the abnormal fertilization in supernumerary pollen tubes and sperm cells related to polytubey, polyspermy, heterofertilization and fertilization recovery. Analyses of model plants have begun to uncover the mechanisms underlying this new pollen tube biology. Here, we review unusual fertilization phenomena and propose several breeding applications for flowering plants. These arguments contribute to the remodeling of plant reproduction, a challenging concept that alters typical plant fertilization by utilizing the current genetic toolbox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoya Sugi
- Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Maioka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 244-0813 Japan
| | - Daisuke Maruyama
- Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Maioka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 244-0813 Japan
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9
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Shiba Y, Takahashi T, Ohashi Y, Ueda M, Mimuro A, Sugimoto J, Noguchi Y, Igawa T. Behavior of Male Gamete Fusogen GCS1/HAP2 and the Regulation in Arabidopsis Double Fertilization. Biomolecules 2023; 13:biom13020208. [PMID: 36830580 PMCID: PMC9953686 DOI: 10.3390/biom13020208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
In the sexual reproduction of flowering plants, two independent fertilization events occur almost simultaneously: two identical sperm cells fuse with either the egg cell or the central cell, resulting in embryo and endosperm development to produce a seed. GCS1/HAP2 is a sperm cell membrane protein essential for plasma membrane fusion with both female gametes. Other sperm membrane proteins, DMP8 and DMP9, are more important for egg cell fertilization than that of the central cell, suggesting its regulatory mechanism in GCS1/HAP2-driving gamete membrane fusion. To assess the GCS1/HAP2 regulatory cascade in the double fertilization system of flowering plants, we produced Arabidopsis transgenic lines expressing different GCS1/HAP2 variants and evaluated the fertilization in vivo. The fertilization pattern observed in GCS1_RNAi transgenic plants implied that sperm cells over the amount of GCS1/HAP2 required for fusion on their surface could facilitate membrane fusion with both female gametes. The cytological analysis of the dmp8dmp9 sperm cell arrested alone in an embryo sac supported GCS1/HAP2 distribution on the sperm surface. Furthermore, the fertilization failures with both female gametes were caused by GCS1/HAP2 secretion from the egg cell. These results provided a possible scenario of GCS1/HAP2 regulation, showing a potential scheme for capturing additional GCS1/HAP2-interacting proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuka Shiba
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo 648, Matsudo-shi 271-8510, Japan
| | - Taro Takahashi
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo 648, Matsudo-shi 271-8510, Japan
| | - Yukino Ohashi
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo 648, Matsudo-shi 271-8510, Japan
| | - Minako Ueda
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Department of Ecological Developmental Adaptability Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
- Suntory Rising Stars Encouragement Program in Life Sciences (SunRiSE), Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Amane Mimuro
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo 648, Matsudo-shi 271-8510, Japan
| | - Jin Sugimoto
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo 648, Matsudo-shi 271-8510, Japan
| | - Yuka Noguchi
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo 648, Matsudo-shi 271-8510, Japan
| | - Tomoko Igawa
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo 648, Matsudo-shi 271-8510, Japan
- Plant Molecular Science Center, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi, Chiba-shi 263-8522, Japan
- Correspondence:
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10
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Li L, Hou S, Xiang W, Song Z, Wang Y, Zhang L, Li J, Gu H, Dong J, Dresselhaus T, Zhong S, Qu LJ. The egg cell is preferentially fertilized in Arabidopsis double fertilization. JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 64:2039-2046. [PMID: 36165373 PMCID: PMC9968529 DOI: 10.1111/jipb.13370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
In flowering plants (angiosperms), fertilization of the egg cell by one sperm cell produces an embryo, whereas fusion of a second sperm cell with the central cell generates the endosperm. In most angiosperms like Arabidopsis, a pollen grain contains two isomorphic sperm cells required for this double fertilization process. A long-standing unsolved question is whether the two fertilization events have any preference. A tool to address this question is the usage of the cyclin-dependent kinase a1 (cdka;1) mutant pollen, which produces a single sperm-like cell (SLC). Here, we first adopt a complementation-based fluorescence-labeling method to successfully separate and collect cdka;1 mutant pollen containing a single SLC. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that cdka;1 SLCs show a gene expression profile highly similar to that of sperm cells and not to the generative cell, precursor of the two sperm cells. Pollination assays using a limited number of cdka;1 mutant pollen revealed that in 98.2% of the ovules, single fertilization of the egg cell occurred. Pollination of pistils with excessive cdka;1 mutant pollen allowed the delivery of a second SLC via fertilization recovery, which fertilized the central cell, resulting in 20.7% double-fertilized ovules. This indicates that cdka;1 SLCs are able to fertilize both the egg and the central cell. Taken together, our findings have answered a long-standing question and support that preferential fertilization of the egg cell is evident in Arabidopsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Li
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Saiying Hou
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Wei Xiang
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Zihan Song
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yuan Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Li Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Jing Li
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, College of Bioscience and Resources Environment, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Hongya Gu
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- The National Plant Gene Research Center, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Juan Dong
- The Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ“2” 08854, USA
| | - Thomas Dresselhaus
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg 93053, Germany
| | - Sheng Zhong
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Li-Jia Qu
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- The National Plant Gene Research Center, Beijing 100101, China
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11
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Cheung AY, Duan Q, Li C, James Liu MC, Wu HM. Pollen-pistil interactions: It takes two to tangle but a molecular cast of many to deliver. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 69:102279. [PMID: 36029655 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2022.102279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Explosive advances have been made in the molecular understanding of pollen-pistil interactions that underlie reproductive success in flowering plants in the past three decades. Among the most notable is the discovery of pollen tube attractants [1∗,2∗]. The roles these molecules play in facilitating conspecific precedence thus promoting interspecific genetic isolation are also emerging [3-5]. Male-female interactions during the prezygotic phase and contributions from the male and female gametophytes have been comprehensively reviewed recently. Here, we focus on key advances in understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of how these interactions overcome barriers at various pollen-pistil interfaces along the pollen tube growth pathway to facilitate fertilization by desirable mates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Y Cheung
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA; Molecular and Cell Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA; Plant Biology Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
| | - Qiaohong Duan
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China; College of Horticultural Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China
| | - Chao Li
- School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ming-Che James Liu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Hen-Ming Wu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA; Molecular and Cell Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
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12
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Fei CH, Tang SS, Shang SH, Dai J, Wang XY, Wang S, Liu WQ, Wang XF. Conspecific pollen advantage mediated by the extragynoecial compitum and its potential to resist interspecific reproductive interference between two Sagittaria species. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:956193. [PMID: 35937372 PMCID: PMC9354020 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.956193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The extragynoecial compitum formed by the incomplete fusion of carpel margins, while allowing intercarpellary growth of pollen tubes in apocarpous angiosperms, may also increase the risk of reproductive interference caused by heterospecific pollen (HP) deposition. In Sagittaria, congeneric HP tubes grow via different paths and enter the ovules later than conspecific pollen (CP) tubes. However, it is unclear how the growth advantage of the CP tube helps ensure reproductive success when HP is deposited on the stigmas. We performed molecular characterization of interspecies-pollinated seeds to examine the consequences of interspecific pollen deposition between Sagittaria pygmaea and S. trifolia. We also conducted CP-HP (1:1) mixed pollination and delayed CP pollination treatments to explore the seed-siring abilities of CP and HP. Our results showed that although HP could trigger the development of fruits, the interspecies-pollinated seeds contained partially developed embryos and could not germinate. More than 70% of the embryos in these seeds were molecularly identified as hybrids of both species, suggesting that HP tubes could enter the ovules and fertilize the egg cells. Moreover, CP could sire more offspring (≥70%) after the CP-HP (1:1) mixed pollination treatment, even when HP reached the stigma 0.5-1 h earlier than CP (≥50%). Following adequate CP vs. HP (1:1) pollination on carpels on two sides of the apocarpous gynoecium, both species produced > 70% conspecific seeds, indicating that the CP tubes could occupy ovules that should be occupied by HP via the extragynoecial compitum. Our results reveal that in Sagittaria, pollen deposition from co-existing congeneric heterospecies leads to interspecific seed discounting. However, the CP advantage mediated by the extragynoecial compitum is an effective strategy to mitigate the effects of interspecific pollen deposition. This study improves our understanding of how apocarpous angiosperms with an extragynoecial compitum can maintain species stability and mitigate the negative reproductive interference effect from sympatrically distributed related species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cai-Hong Fei
- College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Sha-Sha Tang
- College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Shu-He Shang
- College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jie Dai
- College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xin-Yi Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Shuai Wang
- College of Life Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, China
| | - Wei-Qi Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiao-Fan Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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13
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Li W, Li Q, Lyu M, Wang Z, Song Z, Zhong S, Gu H, Dong J, Dresselhaus T, Zhong S, Qu LJ. Lack of ethylene does not affect reproductive success and synergid cell death in Arabidopsis. MOLECULAR PLANT 2022; 15:354-362. [PMID: 34740849 PMCID: PMC9066556 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2021.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The signaling pathway of the gaseous hormone ethylene is involved in plant reproduction, growth, development, and stress responses. During reproduction, the two synergid cells of the angiosperm female gametophyte both undergo programmed cell death (PCD)/degeneration but in a different manner: PCD/degeneration of one synergid facilitates pollen tube rupture and thereby the release of sperm cells, while PCD/degeneration of the other synergid blocks supernumerary pollen tubes. Ethylene signaling was postulated to participate in some of the synergid cell functions, such as pollen tube attraction and the induction of PCD/degeneration. However, ethylene-mediated induction of synergid PCD/degeneration and the role of ethylene itself have not been firmly established. Here, we employed the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to knock out the five ethylene-biosynthesis 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase (ACO) genes and created Arabidopsis mutants free of ethylene production. The ethylene-free mutant plants showed normal triple responses when treated with ethylene rather than 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, but had increased lateral root density and enlarged petal sizes, which are typical phenotypes of mutants defective in ethylene signaling. Using these ethylene-free plants, we further demonstrated that production of ethylene is not necessarily required to trigger PCD/degeneration of the two synergid cells, but certain components of ethylene signaling including transcription factors ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE 3 (EIN3) and EIN3-LIKE 1 (EIL1) are necessary for the death of the persistent synergid cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhao Li
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiyun Li
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Mohan Lyu
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhijuan Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Zihan Song
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Shangwei Zhong
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongya Gu
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China; The National Plant Gene Research Center (Beijing), Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China
| | - Juan Dong
- The Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Thomas Dresselhaus
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sheng Zhong
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
| | - Li-Jia Qu
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China; The National Plant Gene Research Center (Beijing), Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China.
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14
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Heydlauff J, Erbasol Serbes I, Vo D, Mao Y, Gieseking S, Nakel T, Harten T, Völz R, Hoffmann A, Groß-Hardt R. Dual and opposing roles of EIN3 reveal a generation conflict during seed growth. MOLECULAR PLANT 2022; 15:363-371. [PMID: 34848348 PMCID: PMC8837274 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2021.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Seed size critically affects grain yield of crops and hence represents a key breeding target. The development of embryo-nourishing endosperm is a key driver of seed expansion. We here report unexpected dual roles of the transcription factor EIN3 in regulating seed size. These EIN3 functions have remained largely undiscovered because they oppose each other. Capitalizing on the analysis of multiple ethylene biosynthesis mutants, we demonstrate that EIN3 represses endosperm and seed development in a pathway regulated by ethylene. We, in addition, provide evidence that EIN3-mediated synergid nucleus disintegration promotes endosperm expansion. Interestingly, synergid nucleus disintegration is not affected in various ethylene biosynthesis mutants, suggesting that this promoting function of EIN3 is independent of ethylene. Whereas the growth-inhibitory ethylene-dependent EIN3 action appears to be encoded by sporophytic tissue, the growth-promoting role of EIN3 is induced by fertilization, revealing a generation conflict that converges toward the key signaling component EIN3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Heydlauff
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen (CBIB), Leobenerstrasse 5, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Isil Erbasol Serbes
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen (CBIB), Leobenerstrasse 5, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Dieu Vo
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen (CBIB), Leobenerstrasse 5, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Yanbo Mao
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen (CBIB), Leobenerstrasse 5, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Sonja Gieseking
- ZMBP, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 32 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Thomas Nakel
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen (CBIB), Leobenerstrasse 5, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Theresa Harten
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen (CBIB), Leobenerstrasse 5, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Ronny Völz
- ZMBP, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 32 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anja Hoffmann
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen (CBIB), Leobenerstrasse 5, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Rita Groß-Hardt
- University of Bremen, Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen (CBIB), Leobenerstrasse 5, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
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15
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Zhong S, Li L, Wang Z, Ge Z, Li Q, Bleckmann A, Wang J, Song Z, Shi Y, Liu T, Li L, Zhou H, Wang Y, Zhang L, Wu HM, Lai L, Gu H, Dong J, Cheung AY, Dresselhaus T, Qu LJ. RALF peptide signaling controls the polytubey block in Arabidopsis. Science 2022; 375:290-296. [PMID: 35050671 PMCID: PMC9040003 DOI: 10.1126/science.abl4683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Fertilization of an egg by multiple sperm (polyspermy) leads to lethal genome imbalance and chromosome segregation defects. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the block to polyspermy is facilitated by a mechanism that prevents polytubey (the arrival of multiple pollen tubes to one ovule). We show here that FERONIA, ANJEA, and HERCULES RECEPTOR KINASE 1 receptor-like kinases located at the septum interact with pollen tube-specific RALF6, 7, 16, 36, and 37 peptide ligands to establish this polytubey block. The same combination of RALF (rapid alkalinization factor) peptides and receptor complexes controls pollen tube reception and rupture inside the targeted ovule. Pollen tube rupture releases the polytubey block at the septum, which allows the emergence of secondary pollen tubes upon fertilization failure. Thus, orchestrated steps in the fertilization process in Arabidopsis are coordinated by the same signaling components to guarantee and optimize reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Zhong
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ling Li
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhijuan Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zengxiang Ge
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qiyun Li
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Andrea Bleckmann
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jizong Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zihan Song
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yihao Shi
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Tianxu Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Luhan Li
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Huabin Zhou
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanyan Wang
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Li Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hen-Ming Wu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology Program, Plant Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Luhua Lai
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hongya Gu
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
- The National Plant Gene Research Center (Beijing), Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China
| | - Juan Dong
- The Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Alice Y. Cheung
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology Program, Plant Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Thomas Dresselhaus
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Li-Jia Qu
- State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
- The National Plant Gene Research Center (Beijing), Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China
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16
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Fan H, Huang LY, Tong X, Yang LJ, Shi JJ, Jiao J, Xu HQ, Li YC, Wang DY. A competitive PCR-based method to detect a single copy of T-DNA insertion in transformants. PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM 2021; 173:1179-1188. [PMID: 34310717 DOI: 10.1111/ppl.13513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Gene function studies benefit from the availability of mutants. In plants, Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation is widely used to create mutants. These mutants, also called transformants, contain one or several transfer-DNA (T-DNA) copies in the host genome. Quantifying the copy number of T-DNA in transformants is beneficial to assess the number of mutated genes. Here, we developed a competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method to detect a single copy of a T-DNA insertion in transformants. The competitor line BHK- -1 that contains a single copy of competitor BHK- (BHK, Basta, Hygromycin, Kanamycin-resistant genes) was crossed with test transformants and the genomic DNA of F1 plants was subjected to competitive PCR. By analyzing the gray ratio between two PCR products, we were able to determine whether or not the test transformants contained a single copy of T-DNA insertion. We also generated the control lines BHK±1:1 and BHK±2:1 , which contain the target (BHK+ ) and competitor (BHK- ) in a ratio of 1:1 and 2:1, respectively. The ratios of their PCR products are useful references for quantitative analysis. Overall, this method is reliable and simple in experimental manipulations and can be used as a substitute for Southern-blot analysis to identify a single copy of T-DNA insertion in transformants.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Liu-Yuan Huang
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xin Tong
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Liu-Jie Yang
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jiao-Jiao Shi
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jiao Jiao
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Hua-Quan Xu
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Ying-Chao Li
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Dan-Yang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
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17
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Takeuchi H. The role of diverse LURE-type cysteine-rich peptides as signaling molecules in plant reproduction. Peptides 2021; 142:170572. [PMID: 34004266 DOI: 10.1016/j.peptides.2021.170572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
In angiosperm sexual reproduction, the male pollen tube undergoes a series of interactions with female tissues. For efficient growth and precise guidance, the pollen tube perceives extracellular ligands. In recent decades, various types of secreted cysteine-rich peptides (CRPs) have been identified as peptide ligands that regulate diverse angiosperm reproduction processes, including pollen tube germination, growth, guidance, and rupture. Notably, in two distant core eudicot plants, multiple LURE-type CRPs were found to be secreted from egg-accompanying synergid cells, and these CRPs act as a cocktail of pollen tube attractants for the final step of pollen tube guidance. LURE-type CRPs have species-preferential activity, even among close relatives, and exhibit remarkably divergent molecular evolution with conserved cysteine frameworks, demonstrating that they play a key role in species recognition in pollen tube guidance. In this review, I focus on "reproductive CRPs," particularly LURE-type CRPs, which underlie common but species-specific mechanisms in angiosperm sexual reproduction, and discuss their action, functional regulation, receptors, and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hidenori Takeuchi
- Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan.
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18
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Abstract
The gametophyte represents the sexual phase in the alternation of generations in plants; the other, nonsexual phase is the sporophyte. Here, we review the evolutionary origins of the male gametophyte among land plants and, in particular, its ontogenesis in flowering plants. The highly reduced male gametophyte of angiosperm plants is a two- or three-celled pollen grain. Its task is the production of two male gametes and their transport to the female gametophyte, the embryo sac, where double fertilization takes place. We describe two phases of pollen ontogenesis-a developmental phase leading to the differentiation of the male germline and the formation of a mature pollen grain and a functional phase representing the pollen tube growth, beginning with the landing of the pollen grain on the stigma and ending with double fertilization. We highlight recent advances in the complex regulatory mechanisms involved, including posttranscriptional regulation and transcript storage, intracellular metabolic signaling, pollen cell wall structure and synthesis, protein secretion, and phased cell-cell communication within the reproductive tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Said Hafidh
- Laboratory of Pollen Biology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 165 02 Prague 6, Czech Republic; ,
| | - David Honys
- Laboratory of Pollen Biology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 165 02 Prague 6, Czech Republic; ,
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19
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Motomura K, Takeuchi H, Notaguchi M, Tsuchi H, Takeda A, Kinoshita T, Higashiyama T, Maruyama D. Persistent directional growth capability in Arabidopsis thaliana pollen tubes after nuclear elimination from the apex. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2331. [PMID: 33888710 PMCID: PMC8062503 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22661-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
During the double fertilization process, pollen tubes deliver two sperm cells to an ovule containing the female gametes. In the pollen tube, the vegetative nucleus and sperm cells move together to the apical region where the vegetative nucleus is thought to play a crucial role in controlling the direction and growth of the pollen tube. Here, we report the generation of pollen tubes in Arabidopsis thaliana whose vegetative nucleus and sperm cells are isolated and sealed by callose plugs in the basal region due to apical transport defects induced by mutations in the WPP domain-interacting tail-anchored proteins (WITs) and sperm cell-specific expression of a dominant mutant of the CALLOSE SYNTHASE 3 protein. Through pollen-tube guidance assays, we show that the physiologically anuclear mutant pollen tubes maintain the ability to grow and enter ovules. Our findings provide insight into the sperm cell delivery mechanism and illustrate the independence of the tip-localized vegetative nucleus from directional growth control of the pollen tube.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuki Motomura
- Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, 525-8577, Japan.,Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan.,JST, PRESTO, Kawaguchi, Saitama, 332-0012, Japan
| | - Hidenori Takeuchi
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan.,Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Michitaka Notaguchi
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan.,Bioscience and Biotechnology Center, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Haruna Tsuchi
- Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Maioka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 244-0813, Japan
| | - Atsushi Takeda
- Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, 525-8577, Japan.,College of Life Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, 525-8577, Japan
| | - Tetsu Kinoshita
- Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Maioka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 244-0813, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Higashiyama
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan.,Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8602, Japan.,Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Daisuke Maruyama
- Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Maioka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 244-0813, Japan.
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20
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Yu X, Zhang X, Zhao P, Peng X, Chen H, Bleckmann A, Bazhenova A, Shi C, Dresselhaus T, Sun MX. Fertilized egg cells secrete endopeptidases to avoid polytubey. Nature 2021; 592:433-437. [PMID: 33790463 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03387-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Upon gamete fusion, animal egg cells secrete proteases from cortical granules to establish a fertilization envelope as a block to polyspermy1-4. Fertilization in flowering plants is more complex and involves the delivery of two non-motile sperm cells by pollen tubes5,6. Simultaneous penetration of ovules by multiple pollen tubes (polytubey) is usually avoided, thus indirectly preventing polyspermy7,8. How plant egg cells regulate the rejection of extra tubes after successful fertilization is not known. Here we report that the aspartic endopeptidases ECS1 and ECS2 are secreted to the extracellular space from a cortical network located at the apical domain of the Arabidopsis egg cell. This reaction is triggered only after successful fertilization. ECS1 and ECS2 are exclusively expressed in the egg cell and transcripts are degraded immediately after gamete fusion. ECS1 and ESC2 specifically cleave the pollen tube attractor LURE1. As a consequence, polytubey is frequent in ecs1 ecs2 double mutants. Ectopic secretion of these endopeptidases from synergid cells led to a decrease in the levels of LURE1 and reduced the rate of pollen tube attraction. Together, these findings demonstrate that plant egg cells sense successful fertilization and elucidate a mechanism as to how a relatively fast post-fertilization block to polytubey is established by fertilization-induced degradation of attraction factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaobo Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xuecheng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Peng Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiongbo Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Hong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Andrea Bleckmann
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Anastasiia Bazhenova
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Ce Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Thomas Dresselhaus
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Meng-Xiang Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
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21
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Restricted Pollination for Tracing Individual Pollen Tubes in a Pistil. Methods Mol Biol 2021. [PMID: 32529429 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0672-8_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
As one of the essential steps to complete sexual reproduction, a pollen tube is precisely guided to an embryo sac to deliver the sperm cells. This ovule targeting by a pollen tube is one of the essential steps in pollen tube guidance. To assess the ovule targeting ability of the pollen tube from a certain mutant line, comparative analysis of pollen tube behaviors between wild-type and mutant genotypes is important. Here, we provide a protocol that traces all pollen tubes germinated from the quartet tetrad in a pistil by restricted pollination and aniline blue staining. By this analysis, statistical comparison between wild-type and the mutant pollen tube functions under the same in vivo condition is possible.
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Basiri E, Jafari Marandi S, Arbabian S, Majd A, Malboobi MA. Development of male and female gametophytes and embryogenesis in the Arabidopsis thaliana. Biologia (Bratisl) 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11756-021-00682-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Nagahara S, Takeuchi H, Higashiyama T. Polyspermy Block in the Central Cell During Double Fertilization of Arabidopsis thaliana. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 11:588700. [PMID: 33510743 PMCID: PMC7835324 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.588700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
During double fertilization in angiosperms, two male gametes (sperm cells), are released from a pollen tube into the receptive region between two female gametes; the egg cell and the central cell of the ovule. The sperm cells fertilize the egg cell and the central cell in a one-to-one manner to yield a zygote and an endosperm, respectively. The one-to-one distribution of the sperm cells to the two female gametes is strictly regulated, possibly via communication among the four gametes. Polyspermy block is the mechanism by which fertilized female gametes prevent fertilization by a secondary sperm cell, and has been suggested to operate in the egg cell rather than the central cell. However, whether the central cell also has the ability to avoid polyspermy during double fertilization remains unclear. Here, we assessed the one-to-one fertilization mechanism of the central cell by laser irradiation of the female gametes and live cell imaging of the fertilization process in Arabidopsis thaliana. We successfully disrupted an egg cell within the ovules by irradiation using a femtosecond pulse laser. In the egg-disrupted ovules, the central cell predominantly showed single fertilization by one sperm cell, suggesting that neither the egg cell nor its fusion with one sperm cell is necessary for one-to-one fertilization (i.e., monospermy) of the central cell. In addition, using tetraspore mutants possessing multiple sperm cell pairs in one pollen, we demonstrated that normal double fertilization was observed even when excess sperm cells were released into the receptive region between the female gametes. In ovules accepting four sperm cells, the egg cell never fused with more than one sperm cell, whereas half of the central cells fused with more than one sperm cell (i.e., polyspermy) even 1 h later. Our results suggest that the central cell can block polyspermy during double fertilization, although the central cell is more permissive to polyspermy than the egg cell. The potential contribution of polyspermy block by the central cell is discussed in terms of how it is involved in the one-to-one distribution of the sperm cells to two distinct female gametes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiori Nagahara
- Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Hidenori Takeuchi
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
- Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Higashiyama
- Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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Abstract
Carbohydrates (sugars) are an essential energy-source for all life forms. They take a significant share of our daily consumption and are used for biofuel production as well. However, sugarcane and sugar beet are the only two crop plants which are used to produce sugar in significant amounts. Here, we have discovered and fine-tuned a phenomenon in rice which leads them to produce sugary-grain. We knocked-out GCS1 genes in rice by using CRISPR technology, which led to fertilization failure and pollen tube-dependent ovule enlargement morphology (POEM) phenomenon. Apparently, the POEMed-like rice ovule ('endosperm-focused') can grow near-normal seed-size unlike earlier observations in Arabidopsis in which gcs1 ovules ('embryo-focused') were aborted quite early. The POEMed-like rice ovules contained 10-20% sugar, with extremely high sucrose content (98%). Trancriptomic analysis revealed that the osgcs1 ovules had downregulation of starch biosynthetic genes, which would otherwise have converted sucrose to starch. Overall, this study shows that pollen tube content release is sufficient to trigger sucrose unloading at rice ovules. However, successful fertilization is indispensable to trigger sucrose-starch conversion. These findings are expected to pave the way for developing novel sugar producing crops suited for diverse climatic regions.
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25
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Shin JM, Yuan L, Ohme-Takagi M, Kawashima T. Cellular dynamics of double fertilization and early embryogenesis in flowering plants. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2020; 336:642-651. [PMID: 32638525 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2019] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Flowering plants (angiosperms) perform a unique double fertilization in which two sperm cells fuse with two female gamete cells in the embryo sac to develop a seed. Furthermore, during land plant evolution, the mode of sexual reproduction has been modified dramatically from motile sperm in the early-diverging land plants, such as mosses and ferns as well as some gymnosperms (Ginkgo and cycads) to nonmotile sperm that are delivered to female gametes by the pollen tube in flowering plants. Recent studies have revealed the cellular dynamics and molecular mechanisms for the complex series of double fertilization processes and elucidated differences and similarities between animals and plants. Here, together with a brief comparison with animals, we review the current understanding of flowering plant zygote dynamics, covering from gamete nuclear migration, karyogamy, and polyspermy block, to zygotic genome activation as well as asymmetrical division of the zygote. Further analyses of the detailed molecular and cellular mechanisms of flowering plant fertilization should shed light on the evolution of the unique sexual reproduction of flowering plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Min Shin
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.,Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.,Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, Saitama, Japan
| | - Ling Yuan
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.,Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
| | - Masaru Ohme-Takagi
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, Saitama, Japan.,Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Tomokazu Kawashima
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
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Adhikari PB, Liu X, Kasahara RD. Fertilization-Defective Gametophytic Mutant Screening: A Novel Approach. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:967. [PMID: 32714355 PMCID: PMC7340155 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Gametophytic mutants share very small proportion of the total mutants generated by any mutagenic approach; even rarer are the fertilization-defective gametophytic mutants. They require an efficient and targeted strategy instead of 'brute force' screening approach. The classical gametophyte mutant screening method, mainly based on the segregation distortion, can distinguish gametophytic mutants from the others. However, the mutants pooled after the screening constitute both fertilization-defective and developmental-defective gametophytic mutants. Until recently, there has not been any straightforward way to screen the former from the latter. Additionally, most of the mutations affecting both gametes are lost during the screening process. The novel gametophyte screening approach tends to circumvent those shortcomings. This review discusses on the classical approach of gametophytic mutant screening and focuses on the novel approach on distinguishing fertilization-/developmental-defective gametophytic mutants (both male and female). It offers an empirical basis of screening such mutants by taking in the consideration of earlier studies on fertilization failure, initiation of seed coat formation, and fertilization recovery system in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prakash Babu Adhikari
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics Center (HBMC), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xiaoyan Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics Center (HBMC), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Ryushiro D. Kasahara
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics Center (HBMC), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
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27
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Uliana Trentin H, Frei UK, Lübberstedt T. Breeding Maize Maternal Haploid Inducers. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2020; 9:E614. [PMID: 32408536 PMCID: PMC7285223 DOI: 10.3390/plants9050614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Revised: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 05/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Maize doubled haploid (DH) lines are usually created in vivo, through crosses with maternal haploid inducers. These inducers have the inherent ability of generating seeds with haploid embryos when used to pollinate other genotypes. The resulting haploid plants are treated with a doubling agent and self-pollinated, producing completely homozygous seeds. This rapid method of inbred line production reduces the length of breeding cycles and, consequently, increases genetic gain. Such advantages explain the wide adoption of this technique by large, well-established maize breeding programs. However, a slower rate of adoption was observed in medium to small-scale breeding programs. The high price and/or lack of environmental adaptation of inducers available for licensing, or the poor performance of those free of cost, might explain why smaller operations did not take full advantage of this technique. The lack of adapted inducers is especially felt in tropical countries, where inducer breeding efforts are more recent. Therefore, defining optimal breeding approaches for inducer development could benefit many breeding programs which are in the process of adopting the DH technique. In this manuscript, we review traits important to maize maternal haploid inducers, explain their genetic basis, listing known genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL), and discuss different breeding approaches for inducer development. The performance of haploid inducers has an important impact on the cost of DH line production.
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Adhikari PB, Liu X, Wu X, Zhu S, Kasahara RD. Fertilization in flowering plants: an odyssey of sperm cell delivery. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 103:9-32. [PMID: 32124177 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-020-00987-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
In light of the available discoveries in the field, this review manuscript discusses on plant reproduction mechanism and molecular players involved in the process. Sperm cells in angiosperms are immotile and are physically distant to the female gametophytes (FG). To secure the production of the next generation, plants have devised a clever approach by which the two sperm cells in each pollen are safely delivered to the female gametophyte where two fertilization events occur (by each sperm cell fertilizing an egg cell and central cell) to give rise to embryo and endosperm. Each of the successfully fertilized ovules later develops into a seed. Sets of macromolecules play roles in pollen tube (PT) guidance, from the stigma, through the transmitting tract and funiculus to the micropylar end of the ovule. Other sets of genetic players are involved in PT reception and in its rupture after it enters the ovule, and yet other sets of genes function in gametic fusion. Angiosperms have come long way from primitive reproductive structure development to today's sophisticated, diverse, and in most cases flamboyant organ. In this review, we will be discussing on the intricate yet complex molecular mechanism of double fertilization and how it might have been shaped by the evolutionary forces focusing particularly on the model plant Arabidopsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prakash B Adhikari
- College of Life Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics Center (HBMC), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Xiaoyan Liu
- College of Life Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics Center (HBMC), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wu
- College of Life Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics Center (HBMC), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Shaowei Zhu
- College of Life Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics Center (HBMC), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Ryushiro D Kasahara
- College of Life Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
- Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics Center (HBMC), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
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Hater F, Nakel T, Groß-Hardt R. Reproductive Multitasking: The Female Gametophyte. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PLANT BIOLOGY 2020; 71:517-546. [PMID: 32442389 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-081519-035943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Fertilization of flowering plants requires the organization of complex tasks, many of which become integrated by the female gametophyte (FG). The FG is a few-celled haploid structure that orchestrates division of labor to coordinate successful interaction with the sperm cells and their transport vehicle, the pollen tube. As reproductive outcome is directly coupled to evolutionary success, the underlying mechanisms are under robust molecular control, including integrity check and repair mechanisms. Here, we review progress on understanding the development and function of the FG, starting with the functional megaspore, which represents the haploid founder cell of the FG. We highlight recent achievements that have greatly advanced our understanding of pollen tube attraction strategies and the mechanisms that regulate plant hybridization and gamete fusion. In addition, we discuss novel insights into plant polyploidization strategies that expand current concepts on the evolution of flowering plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Friederike Hater
- Centre for Biomolecular Interactions, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany;
| | - Thomas Nakel
- Centre for Biomolecular Interactions, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany;
| | - Rita Groß-Hardt
- Centre for Biomolecular Interactions, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany;
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30
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Evans JP. Preventing polyspermy in mammalian eggs-Contributions of the membrane block and other mechanisms. Mol Reprod Dev 2020; 87:341-349. [PMID: 32219915 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.23331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The egg's blocks to polyspermy (fertilization of an egg by more than one sperm) were originally identified in marine and aquatic species with external fertilization, but polyspermy matters in mammalian reproduction too. Embryonic triploidy is a noteworthy event associated with pregnancy complications and loss. Polyspermy is a major cause of triploidy with up to 80% of triploid conceptuses being the result of dispermic fertilization. The mammalian female reproductive tract regulates the number of sperm that reach the site of fertilization, but mammals also utilize egg-based blocks to polyspermy. The egg-based blocks occur on the mammalian egg coat (the zona pellucida) and the egg plasma membrane, with apparent variation between different mammalian species regarding the extent to which one or both are used. The zona pellucida block to polyspermy has some similarities to the slow block in water-dwelling species, but the mammalian membrane block to polyspermy differs substantially from the fast electrical block that has been characterized in marine and aquatic species. This review discusses what is known about the incidence of polyspermy in mammals and about the mammalian membrane block to polyspermy, as well as notes some lesser-characterized potential mechanisms contributing to polyspermy prevention in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janice P Evans
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
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31
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FERONIA controls pectin- and nitric oxide-mediated male–female interaction. Nature 2020; 579:561-566. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2106-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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32
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Tekleyohans DG, Groß‐Hardt R. New advances and future directions in plant polyspermy. Mol Reprod Dev 2020; 87:370-373. [DOI: 10.1002/mrd.23261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Rita Groß‐Hardt
- Centre for Biomolecular InteractionsUniversity of BremenBremen Germany
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33
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Sprunck S. Twice the fun, double the trouble: gamete interactions in flowering plants. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2020; 53:106-116. [PMID: 31841779 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2019.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Revised: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
During sexual reproduction two gametes of opposite sex unite to produce a zygote. Gamete fusion is a highly controlled process and it has become evident that, across species, common concepts apply to this ancient and fundamental event. Sexual reproduction in flowering plants is even more complex in that two sperm cells fertilize two female reproductive cells (egg and central cell) in a process called double fertilization. Due to the coordinated developmental progression and mutual dependency of the two fertilization products (embryo and endosperm), the success and timing of the two fusion events substantially affects seed set. So far, four proteins are known to act on the surfaces of Arabidopsis gametes to accomplish double fertilization. The molecular and evolutionary characteristics of these players prove that flowering plants integrate plant-specific and widely conserved mechanisms to accomplish the timely fusion of each sperm cell with one female reproductive cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Sprunck
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
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34
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Liu X, Wu X, Adhikari PB, Zhu S, Kinoshita Y, Berger F, Higashiyama T, Kasahara RD. Establishment of a novel method for the identification of fertilization defective mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2020; 521:928-932. [PMID: 31711640 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2019.11.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Plant reproduction is an extremely important phenomenon, as it is strongly associated with plant genetics and early development. Additionally, foundations of the reproductive system have direct implications on plant breeding and agriculture. Investigation of the functions of male and female gametophytes is critical since their fusion is required for seed formation. Although a large number of mutants have been generated to understand the functions of male and female gametophytes, only a small number of genes required for plant fertilization have been identified to date. This is because the screening method used previously required the dissection of siliques, and fertilization-specific mutants exhibiting semi-fertility (or ∼50% fertility) were difficult to identify. Here, we report a new efficient screening method for the identification of fertilization defective mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana using vanillin staining. This method is based on the pollen tube-dependent ovule enlargement morphology (POEM) phenomenon, which generates a partial seed coat within the ovule without fertilization. Using this method, we successfully identified 23 putative fertilization defective mutants in Arabidopsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyan Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China; FAFU-UCR Joint Center and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wu
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China; FAFU-UCR Joint Center and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China
| | - Prakash Babu Adhikari
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China; FAFU-UCR Joint Center and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China
| | - Shaowei Zhu
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China; FAFU-UCR Joint Center and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China
| | - Yoshihiro Kinoshita
- Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8602, Japan
| | - Frederic Berger
- Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology GmbH Dr, Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Tetsuya Higashiyama
- Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8602, Japan; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Ryushiro D Kasahara
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China; FAFU-UCR Joint Center and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China.
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Abstract
Reverse genetics approaches for characterizing phenotypes of mutants in a gene of interest (GOI) require thorough genotyping and phenotypic analysis. However, special challenges are encountered when a GOI is expressed in reproductive tissues: a variety of assays are required to characterize the phenotype and a mutant may show sporophytic and/or gametophytic defects in male and/or female reproductive tissues, which are structurally and functionally intertwined. Here, we present a streamlined workflow to characterize mutants with reproductive defects, primarily using Arabidopsis as a model, which can also be adapted to characterize mutants in other flowering plants. Procedures described here can be used to distinguish different kinds of reproductive defects and pinpoint the defective reproductive step(s) in a mutant. Although our procedures emphasize the characterization of mutants with male reproductive defects, they can nevertheless be used to identify female reproductive defects, as those defects could manifest alongside, and sometimes require, male reproductive tissues.
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36
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Toda E, Okamoto T. Polyspermy in angiosperms: Its contribution to polyploid formation and speciation. Mol Reprod Dev 2019; 87:374-379. [PMID: 31736192 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.23295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Polyploidization has played a major role in the long-term diversification and evolutionary success of angiosperms. Triploid formation among diploid plants, which is generally considered to be achieved by fertilization of an unreduced gamete with a reduced one, has been accepted as a means of polyploid production. In addition, it has been supposed that polyspermy also contributes to the triploid formation in maize, wheat, and some orchids; however, such a mechanism has been considered uncommon because reproducing the polyspermic situation and unambiguously investigating developmental profiles of polyspermic zygotes are difficult. To overcome these problems, rice polyspermic zygotes have been successfully produced by electrofusion of an egg cell with two sperm cells, and their developmental profiles have been monitored. The triploid zygotes progress through karyogamy and divide into two-celled embryos via a typical bipolar mitotic division; the two-celled embryos further develop into triploid plants, indicating that polyspermic plant zygotes, unlike those of animals, can develop normally. Furthermore, progenies consisting of triparental genetic materials have been successfully obtained in Arabidopsis through the pollination of two different kinds of male parents with a female parent. These different pieces of evidence for development and emergence of polyspermic zygotes in vitro and in planta suggest that polyspermy is a key event in polyploidization and species diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Toda
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takashi Okamoto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
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37
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Liu X, Adhikari PB, Kasahara RD. Pollen tube contents from failed fertilization contribute to seed coat initiation in Arabidopsis. F1000Res 2019; 8:348. [PMID: 31031972 PMCID: PMC6468697 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.18644.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Plant seeds are essential for human beings, constituting 70% of carbohydrate resources worldwide; examples include rice, wheat, and corn. In angiosperms, fertilization of the egg by a sperm cell is required for seed formation; therefore, fertilization failure results in no seed formation, except in the special case of apomixis. Initially, plants produce many pollen grains inside the anthers; once the pollen grain is deposited onto the top of the pistil, the pollen tube elongates until it reaches the ovule. Generally, only one pollen tube is inserted into the ovule; however, we previously found that if fertilization by the first pollen tube fails, a second pollen tube could rescue fertilization via the so-called fertilization recovery system (FRS). Our previous reports also demonstrated that failed fertilization results in pollen tube-dependent ovule enlargement morphology (POEM), enlarged seeds, and partial seed coat formation if the pollen tube releases the pollen tube contents into the ovule. However, we have not determined whether all the ovules enlarge or produce seed coats if an ovule accepts the pollen tube contents. Therefore, we conducted a partial seed coat formation experiment taking into account both the FRS and POEM phenomena. Notably, the ratios of failed fertilization and the ovules with partial seed coats matched, indicating that all ovules initiate seed coat formation if the fertilization fails but the pollen tube contents enter the ovule. In addition, we confirmed that the agl62 mutant , defective in early endosperm formation, showed seed coat initiation with and without fertilization, indicating that for a normal seed coat initiation, fertilization is not required; however, for the completion of normal seed coat formation, both normal fertilization and endosperm formation are required. Further molecular evidence is required to understand these phenomena because very few factors related to FRS and POEM have been identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyan Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350002, China.,FAFU-UCR Joint Center and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350002, China
| | - Parakash Babu Adhikari
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350002, China.,FAFU-UCR Joint Center and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350002, China
| | - Ryushiro D Kasahara
- School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350002, China.,FAFU-UCR Joint Center and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350002, China
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38
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Cyprys P, Lindemeier M, Sprunck S. Gamete fusion is facilitated by two sperm cell-expressed DUF679 membrane proteins. NATURE PLANTS 2019; 5:253-257. [PMID: 30850817 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-019-0382-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/06/2019] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Successful double fertilization in flowering plants relies on two coordinated gamete fusion events, but the underlying molecular processes are not well understood. We show that two sperm-specific DOMAIN OF UNKNOWN FUNCTION 679 membrane proteins (DMP8 and DMP9) facilitate gamete fusion, with a greater effect on sperm-egg fusion than on sperm-central cell fusion. We also show that sperm adhesion and sperm cell separation depend on egg cell-secreted EGG CELL 1 proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Cyprys
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, Biochemistry Centre Regensburg, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Maria Lindemeier
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, Biochemistry Centre Regensburg, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Stefanie Sprunck
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, Biochemistry Centre Regensburg, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
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39
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Erbasol Serbes I, Palovaara J, Groß-Hardt R. Development and function of the flowering plant female gametophyte. Curr Top Dev Biol 2019; 131:401-434. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2018.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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40
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Zhou LZ, Dresselhaus T. Friend or foe: Signaling mechanisms during double fertilization in flowering seed plants. Curr Top Dev Biol 2018; 131:453-496. [PMID: 30612627 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2018.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Since the first description of double fertilization 120 years ago, the processes of pollen tube growth and guidance, sperm cell release inside the receptive synergid cell, as well as fusion of two sperm cells to the female gametes (egg and central cell) have been well documented in many flowering plants. Especially microscopic techniques, including live cell imaging, were used to visualize these processes. Molecular as well as genetic methods were applied to identify key players involved. However, compared to the first 11 decades since its discovery, the past decade has seen a tremendous advancement in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating angiosperm fertilization. Whole signaling networks were elucidated including secreted ligands, corresponding receptors, intracellular interaction partners, and further downstream signaling events involved in the cross-talk between pollen tubes and their cargo with female reproductive cells. Biochemical and structural biological approaches are now increasingly contributing to our understanding of the different signaling processes required to distinguish between compatible and incompatible interaction partners. Here, we review the current knowledge about signaling mechanisms during above processes with a focus on the model plants Arabidopsis thaliana and Zea mays (maize). The analogy that many of the identified "reproductive signaling mechanisms" also act partly or fully in defense responses and/or cell death is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang-Zi Zhou
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Dresselhaus
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
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41
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Abstract
SummaryFertilization in higher plants induces many structural and physiological changes in the fertilized egg, and represents the transition from the haploid female gamete to the diploid zygote, the first cell of a sporophyte. Some changes are induced extremely rapidly following fusion with sperm cells and are the preclusions of egg activation. This review focuses on the early changes that occur in the egg after fusion with sperm cells, but before nuclear fusion. Reported changes include cell shrinkage, cell wall formation, polarity change, oscillation in Ca2+ concentration, and DNA synthesis. In addition, the current understanding of egg activation is summarized and the possible functional relevance of the changes is explored.
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42
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Liu L, Lu Y, Wei L, Yu H, Cao Y, Li Y, Yang N, Song Y, Liang C, Wang T. Transcriptomics analyses reveal the molecular roadmap and long non-coding RNA landscape of sperm cell lineage development. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 96:421-437. [PMID: 30047180 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Sperm cell (SC) lineage development from the haploid microspore to SCs represents a unique biological process in which the microspore generates a larger vegetative cell (VC) and a smaller generative cell (GC) enclosed in the VC, then the GC further develops to functionally specified SCs in the VC for double fertilization. Understanding the mechanisms of SC lineage development remains a critical goal in plant biology. We isolated individual cells of the three cell types, and characterized the genome-wide atlas of long non-coding (lnc) RNAs and mRNAs of haploid SC lineage cells. Sperm cell lineage development involves global repression of genes for pluripotency, somatic development and metabolism following asymmetric microspore division and coordinated upregulation of GC/SC preferential genes. This process is accompanied by progressive loss of the active marks H3K4me3 and H3K9ac, and accumulation of the repressive methylation mark H3K9. The SC lineage has a higher ratio of lncRNAs to mRNAs and preferentially expresses a larger percentage of lncRNAs than does the non-SC lineage. A co-expression network showed that the largest set of lncRNAs in these nodes, with more than 100 links, are GC-preferential, and a small proportion of lncRNAs co-express with their neighboring genes. Single molecular fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that several candidate genes may be markers distinguishing the three cell types of the SC lineage. Our findings reveal the molecular programming and potential roles of lncRNAs in SC lineage development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingtong Liu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Yunlong Lu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Liqin Wei
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Hua Yu
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Research Center for Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Yinghao Cao
- Research Center for Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Yan Li
- Research Center for Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Ning Yang
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Yunyun Song
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Chengzhi Liang
- Research Center for Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Tai Wang
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
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43
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Tian X, Qin Y, Chen B, Liu C, Wang L, Li X, Dong X, Liu L, Chen S. Hetero-fertilization together with failed egg-sperm cell fusion supports single fertilization involved in in vivo haploid induction in maize. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2018; 69:4689-4701. [PMID: 29757396 PMCID: PMC6137981 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/ery177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
In vivo doubled-haploid technology is widely applied in commercial maize breeding programs because of its time-saving and cost-reducing features. The production of maize haploids primarily depends on the use of Stock6-derived haploid inducer lines. Although the gene underlying haploid induction, MTL/ZmPLA1/NLD, was cloned recently, the mechanism of haploid induction is still unknown. Hetero-fertilization can occur via a single fertilization, which provides a means to investigate single-fertilization events by studying the hetero-fertilization phenomenon. In this study, we found that the hetero-fertilization rate increased significantly when female maize lines were first individually crossed with pollen from the inducer CAU5 in dual-pollination experiments 4 h before a second pollination with common lines. We also examined embryogenesis during haploid induction by confocal laser-scanning microscopy and observed single-fertilized ovules, indicating that single fertilization occurred during haploid induction. We therefore postulate that both single fertilization and chromosome elimination contribute to haploid induction in maize. We also propose a scheme for the formation of hetero-fertilized and haploid kernels. Our results provide an efficient approach to identify hetero-fertilized kernels for research on interactions between embryo and endosperm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolong Tian
- National Maize Improvement Center of China, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanxin Qin
- National Maize Improvement Center of China, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
| | - Baojian Chen
- National Maize Improvement Center of China, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
| | - Chenxu Liu
- National Maize Improvement Center of China, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
| | - Lele Wang
- National Maize Improvement Center of China, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
| | - Xingli Li
- National Maize Improvement Center of China, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Dong
- National Maize Improvement Center of China, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
- Chongqing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, China
| | - Liwei Liu
- National Maize Improvement Center of China, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
| | - Shaojiang Chen
- National Maize Improvement Center of China, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
- Correspondence:
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44
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Abstract
The haploid female gametophyte (embryo sac) is an essential reproductive unit of flowering plants, usually comprising four specialized cell types, including the female gametes (egg cell and central cell). The differentiation of these cells relies on spatial signals which pattern the gametophyte along a proximal-distal axis, but the molecular and genetic mechanisms by which cell identities are determined in the embryo sac have long been a mystery. Recent identification of key genes for cell fate specification and their relationship to hormonal signaling pathways that act on positional cues has provided new insights into these processes. A model for differentiation can be devised with egg cell fate as a default state of the female gametophyte and with other cell types specified by the action of spatially regulated factors. Cell-to-cell communication within the gametophyte is also important for maintaining cell identity as well as facilitating fertilization of the female gametes by the male gametes (sperm cells).
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Affiliation(s)
- Debra J Skinner
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, USA
| | - Venkatesan Sundaresan
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, USA.,Department of Plant Sciences, University of California-Davis, Davis, USA
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45
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Mizuta Y, Higashiyama T. Chemical signaling for pollen tube guidance at a glance. J Cell Sci 2018; 131:131/2/jcs208447. [DOI: 10.1242/jcs.208447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Pollen tube guidance is a unique navigating system that is required for the successful sexual reproduction of plants. As plant sperm cells are non-motile and egg cells are embedded deep inside the female tissues, a pollen tube delivers the two sperm cells that it contains by growing towards the ovule, in which the egg cell resides. Pollen tube growth towards the ovule is precisely controlled and divided into two stages, preovular and ovular guidance. In this Cell Science at a Glance article and accompanying poster, we provide a comprehensive overview of pollen tube guidance and highlight some of the attractant peptides used during ovular guidance. We further discuss the precise one-to-one guidance system that exists in multi-ovular plants. The pollen tube-blocking system, which is mediated by male–female crosstalk communication, to avoid attraction of multiple pollen tubes, is also reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoko Mizuta
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan
- Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology (PRESTO), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Higashiyama
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan
- Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan
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46
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Kanaoka MM. Cell-cell communications and molecular mechanisms in plant sexual reproduction. JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH 2018; 131:37-47. [PMID: 29181649 DOI: 10.1007/s10265-017-0997-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/29/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Sexual reproduction is achieved by precise interactions between male and female reproductive organs. In plant fertilization, sperm cells are carried to ovules by pollen tubes. Signals from the pistil are involved in elongation and control of the direction of the pollen tube. Genetic, reverse genetic, and cell biological analyses using model plants have identified various factors related to the regulation of pollen tube growth and guidance. In this review, I summarize the mechanisms and molecules controlling pollen tube growth to the ovule, micropylar guidance, reception of the guidance signal in the pollen tube, rupture of the pollen tube to release sperm cells, and cessation of the tube guidance signal. I also briefly introduce various techniques used to analyze pollen tube guidance in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro M Kanaoka
- Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8602, Japan.
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47
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Postcopulatory Reproductive Strategies in Spermatozoa. DIVERSITY AND COMMONALITY IN ANIMALS 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/978-4-431-56609-0_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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48
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Triparental plants provide direct evidence for polyspermy induced polyploidy. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1033. [PMID: 29044107 PMCID: PMC5647324 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01044-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
It is considered an inviolable principle that sexually reproducing organisms have no more than two parents and fertilization of an egg by multiple sperm (polyspermy) is lethal in many eukaryotes. In flowering plants polyspermy has remained a hypothetical concept, due to the lack of tools to unambiguously identify and trace this event. We established a high-throughput polyspermy detection assay, which uncovered that supernumerary sperm fusion does occur in planta and can generate viable polyploid offspring. Moreover, polyspermy can give rise to seedlings with one mother and two fathers, challenging the bi-organismal concept of parentage. The polyspermy derived triploids are taller and produce bigger organs than plants resulting from a regular monospermic fertilization. In addition, we demonstrate the hybridization potential of polyspermy by instantly combining three different Arabidopsis accessions in one zygote. Our results provide direct evidence for polyspermy as a route towards polyploidy, which is considered a major plant speciation mechanism. The fertilization of an egg by more than one sperm is typically lethal. Here, via a novel reporter assay, Nakel et al. report the generation of triparental triploid Arabidopsis plants, implying that polyspermy is a plausible route toward polyploidy during plant evolution.
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49
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Peng X, Sun MX. Pollen tube, a one-way special train for special passengers. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2017; 62:1165-1166. [PMID: 36659505 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2017.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiongpo Peng
- College of Life Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Meng-Xiang Sun
- College of Life Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
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50
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Takahashi T, Honda K, Mori T, Igawa T. Loss of GCS1/HAP2 does not affect the ovule-targeting behavior of pollen tubes. PLANT REPRODUCTION 2017; 30:147-152. [PMID: 28791484 DOI: 10.1007/s00497-017-0305-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/02/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE : hap2-1 pollen tube ovule targeting. Upon pollination, a pollen grain germinates to produce a pollen tube, which grows through the style to deliver two immobile sperm cells to the female gametophyte. Double fertilization is completed after the pollen tube enters an ovule. GENERATIVE CELL SPECIFIC 1 (GCS1)/HAPLESS 2 (HAP2) contributes to the fusion of gametes at fertilization and has been suggested to affect pollen tube guidance. However, there is controversy over the role of GCS1/HAP2 in pollen tube guidance because of conflicting results from different studies. To characterize the effects of the gcs1/hap2 mutation on pollen tube behavior, we analyzed the Arabidopsis thaliana hap2-1/HAP2 mutant, which carries a gcs1/hap2 mutation in the quartet background. The quartet mutant produces tetrads consisting of four pollen grains that remain adherent after the pollen mother cell has completed meiosis. Thus, a hap2-1/HAP2 tetrad contains hap2-1 and HAP2 pollen grains in a 2:2 ratio. Moreover, the hap2-1 locus is linked to the β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. An excess pollination experiment with hap2-1/HAP2 tetrads revealed that the hap2-1 pollen tube targets ovules normally. Additionally, the results of restricted pollination and aniline blue staining indicated that there are no significant differences between the ovule-targeting frequencies of pollen tubes from hap2-1/HAP2 and HAP2/HAP2 tetrads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taro Takahashi
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, 648 Matsudo, Matsudo, Chiba, 271-8510, Japan
| | - Ken Honda
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, 648 Matsudo, Matsudo, Chiba, 271-8510, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Mori
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Juntendo University, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tomoko Igawa
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, 648 Matsudo, Matsudo, Chiba, 271-8510, Japan.
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