title: Bivalent Formation 1, a plant-conserved gene, encodes an OmpH/coiled-coil motif-containing protein required for meiotic recombination in rice.
abstract: Meiosis is essential for eukaryotic sexual reproduction and plant fertility. In comparison with over 80 meiotic genes identified in Arabidopsis, there are only ~30 meiotic genes characterized in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Many genes involved in the regulation of meiotic progression remain to be determined. In this study, we identified a sterile rice mutant and cloned a new meiotic gene, OsBVF1 (Bivalent Formation 1) by map-based cloning. Molecular genetics and cytological approaches were carried out to address the function of OsBVF1 in meiosis. Phylogenetic analyses were used to study the evolution of OsBVF1 and its homologs in plant species. Here we showed that the bvf1 male meiocytes were defective in formation of meiotic double strand break, thereby resulting in a failure of bivalent formation in diakinesis and unequal chromosome segregation in anaphase I. The causal gene, OsBVF1, encodes a unique OmpH/coiled-coil motif-containing protein and its homologs are highly conserved in the plant kingdom and seem to be a single-copy gene in the majority of plant species. Our study demonstrates that OsBVF1 is a novel plant-conserved factor involved in meiotic recombination in rice, providing a new insight into understanding of meiotic progression regulation.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, 510642 Guangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Biotechnology of Guangdong Provincial Higher Education Institutions, 510642 Guangzhou, China.|College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, 510642 Guangzhou, China.|State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 200438 Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Lian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, 510642 Guangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Biotechnology of Guangdong Provincial Higher Education Institutions, 510642 Guangzhou, China.|College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, 510642 Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jingluan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, 510642 Guangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Biotechnology of Guangdong Provincial Higher Education Institutions, 510642 Guangzhou, China.|College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, 510642 Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yuanling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 200438 Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yingxiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, 510642 Guangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Biotechnology of Guangdong Provincial Higher Education Institutions, 510642 Guangzhou, China.|College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, 510642 Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yao-Guang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs / Q000235:genetics; D020090:Chromosome Segregation; D059765:Homologous Recombination; D008540:Meiosis; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000072417:Protein Domains / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: Bivalent; OmpH domain; coiled-coil motif; double strand break formation; meiosis; rice.