Abstract
BackgroundMale sterility (MS) has important applications in hybrid seed production, and the abortion of anthers has been observed in many plant species. While most studies have focused on the genetic factors affecting male sterility, the dynamic gene expression patterns of pollen abortion in male sterile lines have not been fully elucidated. In addition, there is still no hybrid oat that is commercially planted due to the lack of a suitable system of male sterility for hybrid breeding.ResultsIn this study, we cultivated a male sterile oat line and a near-isogenic line by crossbreeding to elucidate the expression patterns of genes that may be involved in sterility. The first reported CA male sterile (CAMS) oat line was used for cross-testing and hybridization experiments and was confirmed to exhibit a type of nuclear sterility controlled by recessive genes. Oat stamens of two lines were sampled at four different developmental stages separately. Paired-end RNA sequencing was performed for each sample and generated 252.84 Gb sequences. There were 295,462 unigenes annotated in public databases in all samples, and we compared the histological characteristics and transcriptomes of oat stamens from the two oat lines at different developmental stages. Our results demonstrate that the sterility of the male sterile oat line occurs in the early stage of stamen development and is primarily attributable to abnormal meiosis and the excessive accumulation of superoxide.ConclusionsTo the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to decipher the dynamic expression profiles of pollen abortion CAMS and CA male fertile (CAMF) oat lines, which may represent a valuable resource for further studies attempting to understand pollen abortion and anther development in oats.
Highlights
Male sterility (MS) has important applications in hybrid seed production, and the abortion of anthers has been observed in many plant species
Morphological characteristics of the CA male sterile (CAMS) line The CAMS material used in this study was first reported by Cui Lin in the oat testing field of the Alpine Crops Research Institute in 1994, and the fertile material utilized in the same field was named CA male fertile (CAMF) [12] (Fig. 1)
The oat takes root and grows straight upward to 80–90 cm in height over approximately 85 days (Fig. 2a), exhibiting dark green leaves and compact main stems, and it produces a number of tillers at the bases of stems (Fig. 2b)
Summary
Male sterility (MS) has important applications in hybrid seed production, and the abortion of anthers has been observed in many plant species. Male sterility has been reported in more than 617 plant species [25, 28], which strongly supports the inheritance pattern of male sterility, and a large number of genes related to male sterility have been discovered in many plants. It was a milestone when the first CMS line and hybrid combination were cultivated successfully in rice by transferring the male sterility gene from wild rice [54]. Compared with maize and rice [35, 65], the commercial crossbreeding of wheat is still restricted by a lack of practical male sterility traits to improve breeding capacities and reduce costs [63]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
