Transgenic induction of mitochondrial rearrangements for cytoplasmic male sterility in crop plants

Stability of the mitochondrial genome is controlled by nuclear loci. In plants, nuclear genes suppress mitochondrial DNA rearrangements during development. One nuclear gene involved in this process is Msh1. Msh1 appears to be involved in the suppression of illegitimate recombination in plant mitocho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2007-02, Vol.104 (6), p.1766-1770
Main Authors: Sandhu, Ajay Pal S, Abdelnoor, Ricardo V, Mackenzie, Sally A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological Sciences
Botany
Capsules
Cytoplasm - genetics
cytoplasmic inheritance
cytoplasmic male sterility
DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics
Flowers & plants
gene expression
Gene loci
Gene Rearrangement
genes
genetic recombination
Genomes
Hypothesis testing
Lycopersicon esculentum
Male animals
Male infertility
Mitochondria - genetics
Mitochondrial DNA
MSH1 gene
Nicotiana - genetics
Nicotiana tabacum
nonhomologous recombination
Phenotypes
plant fertility
Plants
Plants, Genetically Modified
Pollen
Recombination, Genetic
RNA interference
Solanum lycopersicum - genetics
Solanum lycopersicum var. lycopersicum
tobacco
tomatoes
Transduction, Genetic
Transgenes
Transgenic plants
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Summary:Stability of the mitochondrial genome is controlled by nuclear loci. In plants, nuclear genes suppress mitochondrial DNA rearrangements during development. One nuclear gene involved in this process is Msh1. Msh1 appears to be involved in the suppression of illegitimate recombination in plant mitochondria. To test the hypothesis that Msh1 disruption leads to the type of mitochondrial DNA rearrangements associated with naturally occurring cytoplasmic male sterility in plants, a transgenic approach for RNAi was used to modulate expression of Msh1 in tobacco and tomato. In both species, these experiments resulted in reproducible mitochondrial DNA rearrangements and a condition of male (pollen) sterility. The male sterility was, in each case, heritable, associated with normal female fertility, and apparently maternal in its inheritance. Segregation of the transgene did not reverse the male sterile phenotype, producing stable, nontransgenic male sterility. The reproducible transgenic induction of mitochondrial rearrangements in plants is unprecedented, providing a means to develop novel cytoplasmic male sterile lines for release as non-GMO or transgenic materials.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0609344104