title: A genetic pathway for tapetum development and function in Arabidopsis.
abstract: In anther development, tapetal cells take part in complex processes, including endomitosis and apoptosis (programmed cell death). The tapetum provides many of the proteins, lipids, polysaccharides and other molecules necessary for pollen development. Several transcription factors, including DYT1, TDF1, AMS, MS188 and MS1, have been reported to be essential for tapetum development and function in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we present a detailed cytological analysis of knockout mutants for these genes, along with an in situ RNA hybridization experiment and double mutant analysis showing that these transcription factors form a genetic pathway in tapetum development. DYT1, TDF1 and AMS function in early tapetum development, while MS188 and MS1 are important for late tapetum development. The genetic pathway revealed in this work facilitates further investigation of the function and molecular mechanisms of tapetum development in Arabidopsis.
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Zhong-Nan
authors.initials: ZN
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D011058:Pollen / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C480845:AMS protein, Arabidopsis; C514534:DYT1 protein, Arabidopsis; C461559:MS1 protein, Arabidopsis; C532649:TDF1 protein, Arabidopsis