High temperature injury and auxin biosynthesis in microsporogenesis

Atsushi Higashitani

doi:10.3389/fpls.2013.00047

Abstract

Plant reproductive development is more sensitive than vegetative growth to many environmental stresses. High temperature (HT) injury is becoming an increasingly serious problem due to recent global warming. In wheat, barley, and other crops, the early phase of anther development is most susceptible to HT. I and my colleagues recently demonstrated that HT causes cell proliferation arrest and represses auxin signaling in a tissue-specific manner in the anther cells of barley and Arabidopsis. HT also caused comprehensive alterations in transcription. The application of auxin at the same time blocked the transcriptional alterations, led to the production of normal pollen grains, and restored the normal seed setting rate under increasing temperatures. Although synthetic auxins have been used widely as potent and selective herbicides, these recent results indicate that auxin is useful for the promotion of fertility and maintenance of crop yields under the threat of global warming.

Highlights

Plant reproductive development is more sensitive than vegetative growth to many environmental stresses
EFFECT OF INCREASING TEMPERATURES ON ANTHER EARLY DEVELOPMENT In wheat, it has been reported that two types of abnormal microsporogenesis occur in response to High temperature (HT) stress at the onset of meiosis (Saini et al, 1984)
During the subsequent 5 days beginning at the fiveleaf stage, the panicles grow to approximately 10 mm in length, and pollen mother cells (PMCs) and tapetum cells are formed in the anthers (Sakata et al, 2010b; Abiko et al, 2005)

Summary

Introduction

Plant reproductive development is more sensitive than vegetative growth to many environmental stresses. EFFECT OF INCREASING TEMPERATURES ON ANTHER EARLY DEVELOPMENT In wheat, it has been reported that two types of abnormal microsporogenesis occur in response to HT stress at the onset of meiosis (Saini et al, 1984). “Haruna-nijyo”) is an effective model plant for studies of floral development, and reveals both the first and second types of abortions observed in wheat under HT conditions (Sakata et al, 2010b; Abiko et al, 2005; Oshino et al, 2007).

Results

Conclusion