title: Turning meiosis into mitosis.
abstract: Apomixis, or asexual clonal reproduction through seeds, is of immense interest due to its potential application in agriculture. One key element of apomixis is apomeiosis, a deregulation of meiosis that results in a mitotic-like division. We isolated and characterised a novel gene that is directly involved in controlling entry into the second meiotic division. By combining a mutation in this gene with two others that affect key meiotic processes, we created a genotype called MiMe in which meiosis is totally replaced by mitosis. The obtained plants produce functional diploid gametes that are genetically identical to their mother. The creation of the MiMe genotype and apomeiosis phenotype is an important step towards understanding and engineering apomixis.
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR254, IJPB, Versailles. France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: d'Erfurth
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jolivet
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Froger
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Catrice
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Novatchkova
authors.forename: Raphaël
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mercier
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004171:Diploidy; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology; D008540:Meiosis; D008938:Mitosis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D012098:Reproduction
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins