The R2R3 MYB transcription factor DUO1 activates a male germline-specific regulon essential for sperm cell differentiation in Arabidopsis.

The male germline in flowering plants arises through asymmetric division of a haploid microspore. The resulting germ cell undergoes mitotic division and specialization to produce the two sperm cells required for double fertilization. The male germline-specific R2R3 MYB transcription factor DUO1 POLLEN1 (DUO1) plays an essential role in sperm cell specification by activating a germline-specific differentiation program. Here, we show that ectopic expression of DUO1 upregulates a significant number (~63) of germline-specific or enriched genes, including those required for fertilization. We validated 14 previously unknown DUO1 target genes by demonstrating DUO1-dependent promoter activity in the male germline. DUO1 is shown to directly regulate its target promoters through binding to canonical MYB sites, suggesting that the DUO1 target genes validated thus far are likely to be direct targets. This work advances knowledge of the DUO1 regulon that encompasses genes with a range of cellular functions, including transcription, protein fate, signaling, and transport. Thus, the DUO1 regulon has a major role in shaping the germline transcriptome and functions to commit progenitor germ cells to sperm cell differentiation.

Arabidopsis Fused kinase and the Kinesin-12 subfamily constitute a signalling module required for phragmoplast expansion.

The conserved Fused kinase plays vital but divergent roles in many organisms from Hedgehog signalling in Drosophila to polarization and chemotaxis in Dictyostelium. Previously we have shown that Arabidopsis Fused kinase termed TWO-IN-ONE (TIO) is essential for cytokinesis in both sporophytic and gametophytic cell types. Here using in vivo imaging of GFP-tagged microtubules in dividing microspores we show that TIO is required for expansion of the phragmoplast. We identify the phragmoplast-associated kinesins, PAKRP1/Kinesin-12A and PAKRP1L/Kinesin-12B, as TIO-interacting proteins and determine TIO-Kinesin-12 interaction domains and their requirement in male gametophytic cytokinesis. Our results support the role of TIO as a functional protein kinase that interacts with Kinesin-12 subfamily members mainly through the C-terminal ARM repeat domain, but with a contribution from the N-terminal kinase domain. The interaction of TIO with Kinesin proteins and the functional requirement of their interaction domains support the operation of a Fused kinase signalling module in phragmoplast expansion that depends upon conserved structural features in diverse Fused kinases.

A plant germline-specific integrator of sperm specification and cell cycle progression.

The unique double fertilisation mechanism in flowering plants depends upon a pair of functional sperm cells. During male gametogenesis, each haploid microspore undergoes an asymmetric division to produce a large, non-germline vegetative cell and a single germ cell that divides once to produce the sperm cell pair. Despite the importance of sperm cells in plant reproduction, relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms controlling germ cell proliferation and specification. Here, we investigate the role of the Arabidopsis male germline-specific Myb protein DUO POLLEN1, DUO1, as a positive regulator of male germline development. We show that DUO1 is required for correct male germ cell differentiation including the expression of key genes required for fertilisation. DUO1 is also necessary for male germ cell division, and we show that DUO1 is required for the germline expression of the G2/M regulator AtCycB1;1 and that AtCycB1:1 can partially rescue defective germ cell division in duo1. We further show that the male germline-restricted expression of DUO1 depends upon positive promoter elements and not upon a proposed repressor binding site. Thus, DUO1 is a key regulator in the production of functional sperm cells in flowering plants that has a novel integrative role linking gametic cell specification and cell cycle progression.

Arabidopsis DUO POLLEN3 is a key regulator of male germline development and embryogenesis.

Male germline development in angiosperms produces the pair of sperm cells required for double fertilization. A key regulator of this process in Arabidopsis thaliana is the male germline-specific transcription factor DUO POLLEN1 (DUO1) that coordinates germ cell division and gamete specification. Here, we uncover the role of DUO3, a nuclear protein that has a distinct, but overlapping role with DUO1 in male germline development. DUO3 is a conserved protein in land plants and is related to GON-4, a cell lineage regulator of gonadogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Mutant duo3-1 germ cells either fail to divide or show a delay in division, and we show that, unlike DUO1, DUO3 promotes entry into mitosis independent of the G2/M regulator CYCB1;1. We also show that DUO3 is required for the expression of a subset of germline genes under DUO1 control and that like DUO1, DUO3 is essential for sperm cell specification and fertilization. Furthermore, we demonstrate an essential sporophytic role for DUO3 in cell division and embryo patterning. Our findings demonstrate essential developmental roles for DUO3 in cell cycle progression and cell specification in both gametophytic and sporophytic tissues.