Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequence and Identification of a Candidate Gene Responsible for Cytoplasmic Male Sterility in Celery (Apium graveolens L.).

Celery (Apium graveolens L.) is an important leafy vegetable worldwide. The development of F1 hybrids in celery is highly dependent on cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) because emasculation is difficult. In this study, we first report a celery CMS, which was found in a high-generation inbred line population of the Chinese celery "tanzhixiangqin". Comparative analysis, following sequencing and assembly of the complete mitochondrial genome sequences for this celery CMS line and its maintainer line, revealed that there are 21 unique regions in the celery CMS line and these unique regions contain 15 ORFs. Among these ORFs, only orf768a is a chimeric gene, consisting of 1497 bp sequences of the cox1 gene and 810 bp unidentified sequences located in the unique region, and the predicted protein product of orf768a possesses 11 transmembrane domains. In summary, the results of this study indicate that orf768a is likely to be a strong candidate gene for CMS induction in celery. In addition, orf768a can be a co-segregate marker, which can be used to screen CMS in celery.

Iris yellow spot virus-induced chloroplast malformation results in male sterility.

Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) is one of the most devastating viral pathogens, which causes high economic losses in the onion yield. Physiological and genetic changes are associated with the appearance of chlorotic symptom in the infected plants. IYSV-N gene sequence analysis revealed that it shared sequence identity of 99% with other Egyptian isolates, at both genomic and proteomic levels. In addition, N protein sequence with computational examination indicated many motifs involved and played different roles in the virus activity and its regulation and stability were detected. In the Differential Display-Polymerase Chain Reaction (DD-PCR) study, a highly up-regulated gene at 15 days post-biological IYSV inoculation (dpi) was selected for sequencing. Based on the sequencing results that showed the identified gene was coding for a chloroplast-related gene, degenerate specific primers were designed for Real-Time PCR analysis. A significant change in the transcription level of the chloroplast-related gene after 15 dpi suggested that some IYSV proteins interact and/or regulate with chloroplast proteins and this finding supports the DD-PCR results. At 20 dpi, the ultrathin sections showed that IYSV infection caused many dramatic chloroplasts malformations. The malformation appeared as chloroplast broken envelope with the presence of numerous spherical particles inside it and chloroplasts with long stromule. Our findings indicated that IYSV interrupts normal chloroplast functions, as a part of the onion defence response, however many crucial factors remain to be elucidated and further studies are needed at both biological and molecular levels.

Exceptional inheritance of plastids via pollen in Nicotiana sylvestris with no detectable paternal mitochondrial DNA in the progeny.

Plastids and mitochondria, the DNA-containing cytoplasmic organelles, are maternally inherited in the majority of angiosperm species. Even in plants with strict maternal inheritance, exceptional paternal transmission of plastids has been observed. Our objective was to detect rare leakage of plastids via pollen in Nicotiana sylvestris and to determine if pollen transmission of plastids results in co-transmission of paternal mitochondria. As father plants, we used N. sylvestris plants with transgenic, selectable plastids and wild-type mitochondria. As mother plants, we used N. sylvestris plants with Nicotiana undulata cytoplasm, including the CMS-92 mitochondria that cause cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) by homeotic transformation of the stamens. We report here exceptional paternal plastid DNA in approximately 0.002% of N. sylvestris seedlings. However, we did not detect paternal mitochondrial DNA in any of the six plastid-transmission lines, suggesting independent transmission of the cytoplasmic organelles via pollen. When we used fertile N. sylvestris as mothers, we obtained eight fertile plastid transmission lines, which did not transmit their plastids via pollen at higher frequencies than their fathers. We discuss the implications for transgene containment and plant evolutionary histories inferred from cytoplasmic phylogenies.

Paternal cytoplasmic transmission in Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis).

In this paper, the stages of normal sexual reproduction between pollen tube penetration of the archegonium and early embryo formation in Pinus tabulaeformis are described, emphasizing the transmission of parental cytoplasm, especially the DNA-containing organelles--plastids and mitochondria. The pollen tube growing in the nucellus contained an irregular tube nucleus followed by a pair of sperm cells. The tube cytoplasm contained abundant organelles, including starch-containing plastids and mitochondria. The two sperm cells differed in their volume of cytoplasm. The leading sperm, with more cytoplasm, contained abundant plastids and mitochondria, while the trailing one, with a thin layer of cytoplasm, had very few organelles. The mature egg cell contained a great number of mitochondria, whereas it lacked normal plastids. At fertilization, the pollen tube penetrated into the egg cell at the micropylar end and released all of its contents, including the two sperms. One of the sperm nuclei fused with the egg nucleus, whereas the other one was retained by the receptive vacuole. Very few plastids and mitochondria of male origin were observed around the fusing sperm and egg nuclei, while the retained sperm nucleus was surrounded by a large amount of male cytoplasm. The discharged tube cytoplasm occupied a large micropylar area in the egg cell. In the free nuclear proembryo, organelles of maternal and paternal origins intermingled in the neocytoplasm around the free nuclei. Most of the mitochondria had the same features as those of the egg cell, but some appeared to be from sperm cells and tube cytoplasm. Plastids were obviously of male origin, with an appearance similar to those of the sperm or tube cells. After cellularization of the proembryo, maternal mitochondria became more abundant than the paternal ones and the plastids enlarged and began to accumulate starch. The results reveal the cytological mechanism for paternal inheritance of plastids and biparental inheritance of mitochondria in Chinese pine.

Potential cytoplasmic inheritance in Wisteria sinensis and Robinia pseudoacacia (Leguminosae).

We examined pollen cells of Wisteria sinensis and Robinia pseudoacacia (Leguminosae) to determine a possible mode for cytoplasmic inheritance in these species. Epifluorescence microscopy revealed distinct mature generative cells. Mature generative cells of W. sinensis were associated with large numbers of punctuated fluorescent signals corresponding to cytoplasmic DNA aggregates, but no fluorescent signals were observed in the generative cells of R. pseudoacacia. Closer examination showed that the punctate fluorescent signals corresponded to plastid but not mitochondrial DNA. These results suggest a strong potential for paternal transmission of the plastid genome in W. sinensis. Electron microscopy confirmed the presence of plastids in the generative cells of W. sinensis and the absence of plastids in R. pseudoacacia cells due to an unequal distribution of plastids during the first pollen mitosis. Mitochondria were present and intact in the mature generative cells of both species. The lack of fluoresced mitochondrial DNA suggests a very low level of mitochondrial DNA in the cells. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that the labeling of mitochondrial DNA in these cells was reduced by nearly 90% during pollen development. Such a dramatic reduction suggests an active degradation of paternal mitochondrial DNA, which may contribute greatly to the maternal inheritance of mitochondria. In short, we found that W. sinensis exhibits a strong potential for paternal transmission of plastids and that both W. sinensis and R. pseudoacacia appear to share the same mechanism for maternal mitochondrial inheritance.

Presence of plastid and absence of mitochondrial DNA in male reproductive cells as evidence for cytoplasmic inheritance in Turnera ulmifolia and Zantedeschia aethiopica.

Epifluorescence microscopy of mature pollen grains of Turnera ulmifolia and Zantedeschia aethiopica stained with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole demonstrated the presence of fluorescent cytoplasmic DNA aggregates in the male reproductive cells of both species. Double staining of the cells with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole and 3,3'-dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide in Technovit resin sections showed that the mitochondria of these cells did not correspond to the fluorescent cytoplasmic DNA aggregates. Electron microscopy studies revealed both plastids and mitochondria in the cells of these species. In addition, immunoelectron microscopy using an anti-DNA monoclonal antibody showed clear labeling of plastids but not mitochondria. These data provide cytological evidence for biparental plastid inheritance and maternal mitochondrial inheritance in these species.

Native American mtDNA prehistory in the American Southwest.

This study examines the mtDNA diversity of the proposed descendants of the multiethnic Hohokam and Anasazi cultural traditions, as well as Uto-Aztecan and Southern-Athapaskan groups, to investigate hypothesized migrations associated with the Southwest region. The mtDNA haplogroups of 117 Native Americans from southwestern North America were determined. The hypervariable segment I (HVSI) portion of the control region of 53 of these individuals was sequenced, and the within-haplogroup diversity of 18 Native American populations from North, Central, and South America was analyzed. Within North America, populations in the West contain higher amounts of diversity than in other regions, probably due to a population expansion and high levels of gene flow among subpopulations in this region throughout prehistory. The distribution of haplogroups in the Southwest is structured more by archaeological tradition than by language. Yumans and Pimans exhibit substantially greater genetic diversity than the Jemez and Zuni, probably due to admixture and genetic isolation, respectively. We find no evidence of a movement of mtDNA lineages northward into the Southwest from Central Mexico, which, in combination with evidence from nuclear markers, suggests that the spread of Uto-Aztecan was facilitated by predominantly male migration. Southern Athapaskans probably experienced a bottleneck followed by extensive admixture during the migration to their current homeland in the Southwest.

Maternal inheritance of chloroplasts in the horsetail Equisetum variegatum (Schleich.).

Reliable data concerning the transmission of chloroplasts in the Pteridophyta are needed both for phylogenies based on chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequences and in order to study the evolution of this trait in conjunction with the evolution of the life cycle and the sexual reproduction of land plants. For the first time, this paper describes organelle transmission in the division Sphenophyta, represented by the extant genus Equisetum. By following the fate of polymorphic cpDNA during three intraspecific reciprocal crosses we found no trace of paternal transmission in Equisetum variegatum. The seemingly strict maternal transmission of cpDNA in this species suggests that uniparental chloroplast inheritance preceded the evolution of heterospory in the seed-plant lineage.

Unusual structure of the double-stranded RNA associated with the '447' cytoplasmic male sterility in Vicia faba.

The 16.7 kbp dsRNA specific to the '447' cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) line of Vicia faba was labelled in vitro with [alpha-32P]ATP and poly(A) polymerase, and by T4 RNA ligase-mediated addition of [32P]pCp. Analysis of the reaction products under denaturing conditions revealed in both cases extensive labelling of a 4.5 kb ssRNA, already detected in previous experiments in which the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase associated with the dsRNA was allowed to pursue RNA synthesis on preinitiated complexes. Mobility shift analysis of total pCp-labelled dsRNA revealed not two but three different 3' termini. The most prominent sequencing pattern corresponded to the 4.5 kb ssRNA, indicating that this RNA species has a preferentially accessible, free 3' OH extremity. Northern blot analysis of the denatured dsRNA confirmed that the 4.5 kb ssRNA is a subgenomic mRNA and detected its counterpart of about 12 kb. Nearly all 16.7 kbp dsRNA molecules featured an interrupted positive-sense strand, indicating a marked prevalence of transcription over replication complexes. This unusual strategy of transcription by a strand displacement mechanism, following initiation at an internal discontinuity, is compared with that of other dsRNA viruses or defective viruses, and is discussed in relation to the expression of the CMS trait.

Comparative effects of pollen and seed migration on the cytonuclear structure of plant populations. II. Paternal cytoplasmic inheritance.

We continue our study of the effects of pollen and seed migration on the cytonuclear structure of mixed-mating plant populations by analyzing two deterministic continent-island models under the critical assumption of paternal cytoplasmic inheritance. The major results of this study that contrast with our previous conclusions based on maternal cytoplasmic inheritance are (i) pollen gene flow can significantly affect the cytonuclear structure of the island population, and in particular can help to generate cytonuclear disequilibria that greatly exceed the magnitude of those that would be produced by seed migration or mixed mating alone; (ii) with simultaneous pollen and seed migration, nonzero cytonuclear disequilibria will be maintained not only when there is disequilibrium in the immigrant pollen or seeds, but also through a variety of intermigrant admixture effects when the two pools of immigrants differ appropriately in their cytonuclear compositions; (iii) either immigrant pollen or immigrant seeds can generate disequilibria de novo in populations with initially random cytonuclear associations, but pollen migration alone generally produces lower levels of disequilibrium than does comparable seed migration, especially at high levels of self-fertilization when the overall fraction of immigrant pollen is low; (iv) the equilibrium state of the island population will be influenced by the rate of pollen gene flow whenever there is either allelic disequilibrium in the immigrant pollen or simultaneous seed migration coupled with different cytoplasmic or nuclear allele frequencies in immigrant pollen and seeds or nonzero allelic disequilibrium in either immigrant pool. The estimation of pollen migration should therefore be facilitated with paternal cytoplasmic inheritance relative to the case of maternal cytoplasmic inheritance. These basic conclusions hold whether the population is censused as seeds or as adults, but with simultaneous pollen and seed migration, the relationship between census time and the ability to detect nonrandom cytonuclear associations is complex. When migration is through pollen alone, however, the cytonuclear structure of the island population is independent of the life stage censused.