Please wait a minute...
Journal of Integrative Agriculture
Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search
Identification and fine mapping of the male sterility gene msgN13401 reveals defective pollen starch accumulation in barley

Qi Liu1, Zhidong Qi1, Chaofan Li1, Zhenghan Chen1, Wenqian Liu1, Baoshen Liu1, Chaozhong Zhang2, Jiajie Wu1, Juan Qi1#, Fei Ni1#

1 State key Laboratory of Wheat Improvement, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China

2 Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

 Highlights 

A novel EMS-induced barley male-sterile mutant (N13401) was identified and characterized, displaying defective pollen starch accumulation.

The male sterility gene msgN13401 was fine-mapped to a 576.9 kb region on chromosome 2H using a wild-cultivated barley cross to overcome low polymorphism.

Download:  PDF in ScienceDirect  
Export:  BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      
摘要  

大麦(Hordeum vulgare L.)是全球第四大谷物作物,也是酿造工业的重要原料和畜牧业的主要饲料来源。杂种优势利用是提升作物产量的重要途径,而雄性不育基因及其突变体为杂交种选育或生产提供了关键遗传资源。本研究所用雄性不育材料N13401来源于大麦品种Tamalpais的甲基磺酸乙酯(EMS)诱变群体,表现出完全雄性不育;其不育表型由单隐性基因msgN13401控制。细胞学观察显示,突变体绒毡层与中间层可正常降解,但花粉粒淀粉积累异常并最终导致雄性不育。利用两个F₂分离群体,我们将msgN13401定位在侧翼标记pMS124M17pMS124M16之间约0.9 cM的遗传区间内,对应Morex V3参考基因组中约576.9 Kb的物理区域。该区间共注释有38个基因,其中23个为高置信度基因在这些高置信度基因中,有17个在花药中表达。对N13401进行重测序并与Tamalpais参考基因组比较,我们发现仅有一个高置信度基因存在序列变异。此外,在15个低置信度基因中,有两个基因也检测到碱基突变。基于上述突变特征与表达模式,我们筛选出三个候选突变:包括一个编码吡咯啉-5-羧酸还原酶(pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase, P5CR)基因启动子区的突变、一个编码螺旋-发夹-螺旋(helix-hairpin-helix, HhH)基序基因的移码突变,以及一个编码液泡铁转运类似蛋白(vacuolar iron transporter-like, VTL)的错义突变。这三个候选基因均不同于已鉴定的大麦雄性不育基因位点,相关研究结果为进一步解析花粉淀粉积累的分子机制及推进大麦杂交育种提供了有效线索和遗传材料。



Online: 31 December 2025  
Fund: 

This work was supported by the Tai’an Science and Technology Innovation Major Project (National Major Innovation Platform Supporting Project, 2024GZPT01), and the Youth Innovation Technology Project of Higher School in Shandong Province (2024KJI013).

About author:  #Correspondence Fei Ni, E-mail: nifei1998@sdau.edu.cn; Juan Qi, E-mail: qijuan@sdau.edu.c

Cite this article: 

Qi Liu, Zhidong Qi, Chaofan Li, Zhenghan Chen, Wenqian Liu, Baoshen Liu, Chaozhong Zhang, Jiajie Wu, Juan Qi, Fei Ni. 2025. Identification and fine mapping of the male sterility gene msgN13401 reveals defective pollen starch accumulation in barley. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Doi:10.1016/j.jia.2025.12.077

Amanda D, Frey F P, Neumann U, Przybyl M, Šimura J, Zhang Y, Chen Z, Gallavotti A, Fernie A R, Ljung K, Acosta I F. 2022. Auxin boosts energy generation pathways to fuel pollen maturation in barley. Current Biology, 32, 1798-1811.

Bernhard T, Koch M, Snowdon R J, Friedt W, Wittkop B. 2019. Undesired fertility restoration in msm1 barley associates with two mTERF genes. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 132, 1335-1350.

Biancucci M, Mattioli R, Forlani G, Funck D, Costantino P, Trovato M. 2015. Role of proline and GABA in sexual reproduction of angiosperms. Frontiers in Plant Science, 6, 680.

Brear E M, Bedon F, Gavrin A, Kryvoruchko I S, Torres-Jerez I, Udvardi M K, Day D A, Smith P M C. 2020. GmVTL1a is an iron transporter on the symbiosome membrane of soybean with an important role in nitrogen fixation. New Phytologist, 228, 667-681.

Chen L, Dong X, Yang H, Chai Y, Xia Y, Tian L, Qu L Q. 2023. Cytosolic disproportionating enzyme2 is essential for pollen germination and pollen tube elongation in rice. Plant Physiology, 191, 96-109.

Connorton J M, Jones E R, Rodríguez-Ramiro I, Fairweather-Tait S, Uauy C, Balk J. 2017. Wheat vacuolar iron transporter TaVIT2 transports Fe and Mn and is effective for biofortification. Plant Physiology, 174, 2434-2444.

Fernández-Gómez J, Talle B, Wilson Z A, Goring D. 2020. Increased expression of the MALE STERILITY1 transcription factor gene results in temperature-sensitive male sterility in barley. Journal of Experimental Botany, 71, 6328-6339.

Ge X, Chen J, Li O, Zou M, Tao B, Zhao L, Wen J, Yi B, Tu J, Shen J. 2024. ORF138 causes abnormal lipid metabolism in the tapetum leading to Ogu cytoplasmic male sterility in Brassica napus. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24, 2080-2095.

Geng L, Li M, Zhang G, Ye L. 2022. Barley: A potential cereal for producing healthy and functional foods. Food Quality and Safety, 6, 1-13.

Goetz M, Godt D E, Guivarc’h, Guivarc’h A, Kahmann U, Chriqui D, Roitsch T. 2001. Induction of male sterility in plants by metabolic engineering of the carbohydrate supply. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98, 6522-6527.

Guan X, Zhang Y, Zhou L, Asad M A U, Zhao Q, Pan G, Cheng F. 2023. Disruptions of sugar utilization and carbohydrate metabolism in rice developing anthers aggravated heat stress-induced pollen abortion. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 202, 107991.

Gupta P K, Balyan H S, Gahlaut V, Saripalli G, Pal B, Basnet B R, Joshi A K. 2019. Hybrid wheat: Past, present and future. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 132, 2463-2483.

Hua M, Yin W, Tidy A C, Gómez J F, Li H, Shi S, Xing G, Zong J, Wilson Z A. 2025. The bHLH transcription factor DTT1 is part of a paired key that unlocks the tapetum transition in barley anther development. The Plant Cell, 37, koaf230.

Kamada R, Sakaguchi S, Kura S, Takamatsu K, Yamamoto T, Imagawa T, Sakaguchi K. 2022. Stereoselective interaction of helix-hairpin-helix motif peptides with DNA structure. Chemistry Letters, 51, 1029-1032.

Krasileva K V, Vasquez-Gross H A, Howell T, Bailey P, Paraiso F, Clissold L, Simmonds J, Ramirez-Gonzalez R H, Wang X, Borrill P, Fosker C, Ayling S, Phillips A L, Uauy C, Dubcovsky J. 2017. Uncovering hidden variation in polyploid wheat. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114, E913-E921.

Lee S K, Lee J, Jo M, Jeon J S. 2022. Exploration of sugar and starch metabolic pathway crucial for pollen fertility in rice. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23, 14091.

Lehmann S, Funck D, Szabados L, Rentsch D. 2010. Proline metabolism and transport in plant development. Amino Acids, 39, 949-962.

Li J, Wang Z, He G, Ma L, Deng X W. 2020. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated disruption of TaNP1 genes results in complete male sterility in bread wheat. Journal of Genetics and Genomics, 47, 263-272.

Li X, Lawas L M F, Malo R, Glaubitz U, Erban A, Mauleon R, Heuer S, Zuther E, Kopka J, Hincha D K, Jagadish K S V. 2015. Metabolic and transcriptomic signatures of rice floral organs reveal sugar starvation as a factor in reproductive failure under heat and drought stress. Plant, Cell and Environment, 38, 2171-2192.

Liu H Z, Zhang G S, Zhu W W, Ba Q S, Niu N, Wang J W, Ma S C, Wang J S. 2015. Relationship between male sterility and β-1,3-glucanase activity and callose deposition-related gene expression in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Genetics and Molecular Research, 14, 574-584.

Liu S, Li Z, Wu S, Wan X. 2021. The essential roles of sugar metabolism for pollen development and male fertility in plants. The Crop Journal, 9, 1223-1236.

Mascher M, Wicker T, Jenkins J, Plott C, Lux T, Koh C S, Ens J, Gundlach H, Boston L B, Tulpová Z, Holden S, Hernández-Pinzón I, Scholz U, Mayer K F X, Spannagl M, Pozniak C J, Sharpe A G, Šimková H, Moscou M J, Grimwood J, et al. 2021. Long-read sequence assembly: A technical evaluation in barley. The Plant Cell, 33, 1888-1906.

Mattioli R, Biancucci M, El Shall A, Mosca L, Costantino P, Funck D, Trovato M. 2018. Proline synthesis in developing microspores is required for pollen development and fertility. BMC Plant Biology, 18, 356.

Momonoi K, Yoshida K, Mano S, Takahashi H, Nakamori C, Shoji K, Nitta A, Nishimura M. 2009. A vacuolar iron transporter in tulip, TgVit1, is responsible for blue coloration in petal cells through iron accumulation. The Plant Journal, 59, 437-447.

Nepi M, von Aderkas P, Wagner R, Mugnaini S, Coulter A, Pacini E. 2009. Nectar and pollination drops: How different are they? Annals of Botany, 104, 205-219.

Qi J, Ni F, Wang X, Sun M, Cui Y, Wu J, Caplan A, Fu D. 2019. The anther-specific CYP704B is potentially responsible for MSG26 male sterility in barley. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 132, 2413-2423.

Qi X, Xu Z, Pei H, Hu X, Wu J, Li X, Wang T, Fu D. 2012. Construction and functional evaluation of an EMS-induced mutant population in barley. Journal of Triticeae Crops, 32, 846-852.

Ram H, Sardar S, Gandass N. 2021. Vacuolar iron transporter (like) proteins: Regulators of cellular iron accumulation in plants. Physiologia Plantarum, 171, 823-832.

Rizzolatti C, Bury P, Tatara E, Pin P A, Rodde N, Bergès H, Budar F, Mireau H, Gielen J J L. 2017. Map-based cloning of the fertility restoration locus Rfm1 in cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare). Euphytica, 213, 276.

Shao X, Grishin N V. 2000. Common fold in helix-hairpin-helix proteins. Nucleic Acids Research, 28, 2643–2650.

Sharma S, Kaur G, Kumar A, Meena V, Ram H, Kaur J, Pandey A K. 2020. Gene expression pattern of vacuolar-iron transporter-like (VTL) genes in hexaploid wheat during metal stress. Plants, 9, 229.

Tang H, Song Y, Guo J, Wang J, Zhang L, Niu N, Ma S, Zhang G, Zhao H. 2018. Physiological and metabolome changes during anther development in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 132, 18-32.

Türkoğlu A, Haliloğlu K, Tosun M, Bujak H, Eren B, Demirel F, Szulc P, Karagöz H, Selwet M, Özkan G, Niedbała G. 2023. Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagen toxicity-induced dna damage, cytosine methylation alteration, and iPBS-retrotransposon polymorphisms in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Agronomy, 13, 1767.

Wan X, Wu S, Li Z, Dong Z, An X, Ma B, Tian Y, Li J. 2019. Maize genic male-sterility genes and their applications in hybrid breeding: Progress and perspectives. Molecular Plant, 12, 321-342.

Wang B, Fang R, Zhang J, Han J, Chen F, He F, Liu Y G, Chen L, Wilson Z. 2020. Rice LecRK5 phosphorylates a UGPase to regulate callose biosynthesis during pollen development. Journal of Experimental Botany, 71, 4033-4041.

Wang R, Sun Y, Liu W, Chen X, Xu J, Yuan Z, Liang W, Zhang D. 2025. TIP2-UDT1-OsUPEX1/2 module regulates tapetum development and function in rice. New Phytologist, 247, 651-668.

Zhang S, An X, Jiang Y, Hou Q, Ma B, Jiang Q, Zhang K, Zhao L, Wan X. 2024. Plastid-localized ZmENR1/ZmHAD1 complex ensures maize pollen and anther development through regulating lipid and ROS metabolism. Nature Communications, 15, 10857.

Zheng H, Zhao Z, Zhu S, Ren Y, Shen J, Xun Z, Yu X, Wang C, Yao B, Cheng S, Hu Y, Zhang S, Wang Q, Lu J, Xie Z, Lei D, Jian A, Chen M, Chen K, Liu S, et al. 2025. OsBRK1-mediated phosphorylation of OsPFN2 regulates meiotic spindle actin assembly and rice fertility. Plant Communications, 6, 101417.

No related articles found!
No Suggested Reading articles found!