A Timer of Mr. Anther: Haste Makes Waste

Fang, Guo, Wang, et al. explore the molecular mechanism underlying anther dehiscence in rice.

https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae028

Yuxing Fang, State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University.

Yi Wang, State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University.

Dongshu Guo, Provincial Key Laboratory of Agrobiology, Institute of Germplasm Resources and Biotechnology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Genji Qin, State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University.

Background: Anthers are crucial for pollen development and storage. The success of plant reproduction depends on anthers opening and pollen being released at the appropriate time. Jasmonates (JA) are key plant hormones that promote anther dehiscence. In the staple food crop rice, the JA concentration is low at the early anther developmental stage, but increases at the late developmental stage to promote anther opening.

Question: How is JA concentration finely regulated during rice anther development?

Findings: This study identifies a transcriptional regulatory module consisting of the OsTIE1 transcriptional repressor and OsTCP1 transcription factor that tightly regulates JA biosynthesis during anther development. The disruption of OsTIE1 function in the Ostie1 mutant led to anthers opening prematurely, before pollen maturation. OsTIE1 physically interacted with the OsTCP1 transcription factor, which then bound directly to the promoter of JA biosynthesis genes to regulate their expression. Consistently, the JA concentration in the early anthers of the Ostie1 mutant was elevated, and inhibiting JA biosynthesis partially rescued the early anther opening of Ostie1 mutant. Overexpression of OsTCP1 resulted in the early anther opening phenotype, similar to that observed in the Ostie1 mutant.

Next steps: The OsTIE1-OsTCP1 module could be further investigated to create phytohormone genic male-sterile (PHGMS) lines for hybrid seed production.

Reference:

Yuxing Fang, Dongshu Guo, Yi Wang, Ning Wang, Xianwen Fang, Yunhui Zhang, Xiao Li, Letian Chen, Diqiu Yu, Baolong Zhang and Genji Qin. (2024). Rice transcriptional repressor OsTIE1 controls anther dehiscence and male sterility by regulating JA biosynthesis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae028