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Metabolically engineered male sterility in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

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Abstract

Male sterility is of special interest as a mechanism allowing hybrid breeding, especially in important crops such as rapeseed (Brassica napus). Male sterile plants are also suggested to be used as a biological safety method to prevent the spread of transgenes, a risk that is high in the case of rapeseed due to the mode of pollination, out-crossing by wind or insects, and the presence of related, cross-pollinating species in the surrounding ecosystem in Europe. Different natural occurring male sterilities and alloplasmic forms have been tried to be used in rapeseed with more or less success. Due to the difficulties and limitations with these systems, we present a biotechnological alternative: a metabolically engineered male sterility caused by interference with anther-specific cell wall-bound invertase. This is an essential enzyme for carbohydrate supply of the symplastically isolated pollen. The activity of this enzyme is reduced either by antisense interference or by expressing an invertase inhibitor under control of the anther-specific promoter of the invertase with the consequence of a strong decrease of pollen germination ability.

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Acknowledgments

The skillful technical assistance of Christine Hampp, Jenifer Rech, Doris Waffler and Lisa Schneider and financial support by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt, Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz and DFG-Graduiertenkolleg-1342 are gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Lehrstuhl für Pharmazeutische Biologie, Julius von Sachs Institut, Universität Würzburg, Julius von Sachs Platz 2, 97082, Würzburg, Germany

    Thomas Engelke, J. Hirsche & T. Roitsch

  2. Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften, Schubertstr. 51, 8010, Graz, Austria

    T. Roitsch

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  1. Thomas Engelke
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  2. J. Hirsche
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Correspondence to Thomas Engelke.

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Communicated by I. Rajcan.

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Engelke, T., Hirsche, J. & Roitsch, T. Metabolically engineered male sterility in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Theor Appl Genet 122, 163–174 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-010-1432-4

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