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BcMF11, a novel non-coding RNA gene from Brassica campestris, is required for pollen development and male fertility

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Abstract

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BcMF11 as a non-coding RNA gene has an essential role in pollen development, and might be useful for regulating the pollen fertility of crops by antisense RNA technology.

Abstract

We previously identified a 828-bp full-length cDNA of BcMF11, a novel pollen-specific non-coding mRNA-like gene from Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis Makino). However, little information is known about the function of BcMF11 in pollen development. To investigate its exact biological roles in pollen development, the BcMF11 cDNA was antisense inhibited in transgenic Chinese cabbage under the control of a tapetum-specific promoter BcA9 and a constitutive promoter CaMV 35S. Antisense RNA transgenic plants displayed decreasing expression of BcMF11 and showed distinct morphological defects. Pollen germination test in vitro and in vivo of the transgenic plants suggested that inhibition of BcMF11 decreased pollen germination efficiency and delayed the pollen tubes’ extension in the style. Under scanning electron microscopy, many shrunken and collapsed pollen grains were detected in the antisense BcMF11 transgenic Chinese cabbage. Further cytological observation revealed abnormal pollen development process in transgenic plants, including delayed degradation of tapetum, asynchronous separation of microspore, and aborted development of pollen grain. These results suggest that BcMF11, as a non-coding RNA, plays an essential role in pollen development and male fertility.

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Abbreviations

BcMF11 :

Brassica campestris Male Fertility 11

CaMV:

Cauliflower mosaic virus

ncRNA:

Non-coding RNA

ORF:

Open reading frame

RT-PCR:

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30800750, 31071805, 31272170) and the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province (No. 10040606Q20).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Horticulture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, People’s Republic of China

    Jiang-Hua Song & Cheng-Gang Wang

  2. Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, Institute of Vegetable Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of China

    Jiang-Hua Song & Jia-Shu Cao

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  1. Jiang-Hua Song
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  2. Jia-Shu Cao
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Correspondence to Jia-Shu Cao.

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Communicated by H. Judelson.

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Song, JH., Cao, JS. & Wang, CG. BcMF11, a novel non-coding RNA gene from Brassica campestris, is required for pollen development and male fertility. Plant Cell Rep 32, 21–30 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-012-1337-6

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