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Marconi G, Aiello D, Kindiger B, Storchi L, Marrone A, Reale L, Terzaroli N, Albertini E. The Role of APOSTART in Switching between Sexuality and Apomixis in Poa pratensis. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11080941. [PMID: 32824095 PMCID: PMC7464379 DOI: 10.3390/genes11080941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The production of seeds without sex is considered the holy grail of plant biology. The transfer of apomixis to various crop species has the potential to transform plant breeding, since it will allow new varieties to retain valuable traits thorough asexual reproduction. Therefore, a greater molecular understanding of apomixis is fundamental. In a previous work we identified a gene, namely APOSTART, that seemed to be involved in this asexual mode of reproduction, which is very common in Poa pratensis L., and here we present a detailed work aimed at clarifying its role in apomixis. In situ hybridization showed that PpAPOSTART is expressed in reproductive tissues from pre-meiosis to embryo development. Interestingly, it is expressed early in few nucellar cells of apomictic individuals possibly switching from a somatic to a reproductive cell as in aposporic apomixis. Moreover, out of 13 APOSTART members, we identified one, APOSTART_6, as specifically expressed in flower tissue. APOSTART_6 also exhibited delayed expression in apomictic genotypes when compared with sexual types. Most importantly, the SCAR (Sequence Characterized Amplified Region) derived from the APOSTART_6 sequence completely co-segregated with apomixis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianpiero Marconi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy; (G.M.); (D.A.); (L.R.); (N.T.)
| | - Domenico Aiello
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy; (G.M.); (D.A.); (L.R.); (N.T.)
| | - Bryan Kindiger
- USDA-ARS, Grazinglands Research Laboratory, 7207 West Cheyenne St., El Reno, OK 73036, USA;
| | - Loriano Storchi
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università G. d’Annunzio, via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (L.S.); (A.M.)
- Molecular Discovery Limited, Elstree WD6 3FG, UK
| | - Alessandro Marrone
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università G. d’Annunzio, via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (L.S.); (A.M.)
| | - Lara Reale
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy; (G.M.); (D.A.); (L.R.); (N.T.)
| | - Niccolò Terzaroli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy; (G.M.); (D.A.); (L.R.); (N.T.)
| | - Emidio Albertini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy; (G.M.); (D.A.); (L.R.); (N.T.)
- Correspondence:
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