Zm401p10, encoded by an anther-specific gene with short open reading frames, is essential for tapetum degeneration and anther development in maize
Dongxue Wang A B , Chengxia Li A C , Qian Zhao A , Linna Zhao A , Meizhen Wang A , Dengyun Zhu A , Guangming Ao A and Jingjuan Yu A DA State Key Laboratory for Agro-biotechnology, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing 100094, China.
B Present address: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020, USA.
C Present address: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
D Corresponding author. Email: yujj@cau.edu.cn
Functional Plant Biology 36(1) 73-85 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP08154
Submitted: 22 May 2008 Accepted: 5 October 2008 Published: 7 January 2009
Abstract
In flowering plants, the tapetum is proposed to play a vital role in the early stages of pollen development. Disruptions to tapetum development and degeneration typically result in male sterility. The present study characterised a maize (Zea mays L.) anther-specific gene, Zm401, which only contains short open reading frames (sORFs). The longest ORF of the Zm401 gene encodes a small protein designated Zm401p10 that accumulates in the nucleus. Overexpression of Zm401p10 in maize retarded tapetal degeneration and caused microspore abnormalities. A microarray analysis identified 278 downregulated and 150 upregulated genes in anthers overexpressing Zm401p10. These results indicate that the Zm401 gene is one of the major components of the molecular network regulating maize anther development and male fertility, and that Zm401p10 is expressed from the longest ORF of the gene.
Additional keywords: microspore, Zea mays, Zm401.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Dr Zhen Su (China Agricultural University) for assisting with the Affymetrix GeneChip analysis; Dr Dawei Li, Dr De Ye, Dr Shuhua Yang (China Agricultural University) and Dr Wenying Xu (Chinese Academy of Sciences) for discussion and helpful suggestions; Dr Mao Wang (China Agricultural University) for assistance with the histology; Hongjing Hao (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences) for assistance with the electron microscopy; Hong Yan (China Agriculture University) for assistance with the microarray analysis; and Professor Andrew O. Jackson. (Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California at Berkeley) for critical reading of this manuscript. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30100014 and 30671124) and the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-05-0129).
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