The rice tapetum degeneration retardation gene is required for tapetum degradation and anther development.
In flowering plants, tapetum degeneration is proposed to be triggered by a programmed cell death (PCD) process during late stages of pollen development; the PCD is thought to provide cellular contents supporting pollen wall formation and to allow the subsequent pollen release. However, the molecular basis regulating tapetum PCD in plants remains poorly understood. We report the isolation and characterization of a rice (Oryza sativa) male sterile mutant tapetum degeneration retardation (tdr), which exhibits degeneration retardation of the tapetum and middle layer as well as collapse of microspores. The TDR gene is preferentially expressed in the tapetum and encodes a putative basic helix-loop-helix protein, which is likely localized to the nucleus. More importantly, two genes, Os CP1 and Os c6, encoding a Cys protease and a protease inhibitor, respectively, were shown to be the likely direct targets of TDR through chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses and the electrophoretic mobility shift assay. These results indicate that TDR is a key component of the molecular network regulating rice tapetum development and degeneration.
Li
Na
N
Shanghai Jiao Tong University-Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences-Pensylvania State University Joint Center for Life Sciences, Shanghai 200240, China.
Zhang
Da-Sheng
DS
Liu
Hai-Sheng
HS
Yin
Chang-Song
CS
Li
Xiao-xing
XX
Liang
Wan-qi
WQ
Yuan
Zheng
Z
Xu
Ben
B
Chu
Huang-Wei
HW
Wang
Jia
J
Wen
Tie-Qiao
TQ
Huang
Hai
H
Luo
Da
D
Ma
Hong
H
Zhang
Da-Bing
DB
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017209:Apoptosis; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D035264:Flowers / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D012275:Oryza / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein
D010940:Plant Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger