Genetics, Vol. 167, 1975-1986, August 2004, Copyright © 2004
doi:10.1534/genetics.104.030270

Analysis of Transposon Insertion Mutants Highlights the Diversity of Mechanisms Underlying Male Progamic Development in Arabidopsis

Eric Lalanne*,{dagger}, Christos Michaelidis*, James M. Moore{ddagger},§, Wendy Gagliano§, Andrew Johnson*, Ramesh Patel*, Ross Howden*, Jean-Phillippe Vielle-Calzada§, Ueli Grossniklaus{ddagger},§ and David Twell*,1

* Department of Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom
{dagger} School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UG, United Kingdom
{ddagger} Institute of Plant Biology and Zürich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zürich, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland
§ Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724

1 Corresponding author: Department of Biology, University of Leicester, University Rd., Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom.
E-mail: twe{at}le.ac.uk

To identify genes with essential roles in male gametophytic development, including postpollination (progamic) events, we have undertaken a genetic screen based on segregation ratio distortion of a transposon-borne kanamycin-resistance marker. In a population of 3359 Arabidopsis Ds transposon insertion lines, we identified 20 mutants with stably reduced segregation ratios arising from reduced gametophytic transmission. All 20 mutants showed strict cosegregation of Ds and the reduced gametophytic transmission phenotype. Among these, 10 mutants affected both male and female transmission and 10 mutants showed male-specific transmission defects. Four male and female (ungud) mutants and 1 male-specific mutant showed cellular defects in microspores and/or in developing pollen. The 6 remaining ungud mutants and 9 male-specific (seth) mutants affected pollen functions during progamic development. In vitro and in vivo analyses are reported for 5 seth mutants. seth6 completely blocked pollen germination, while seth7 strongly reduced pollen germination efficiency and tube growth. In contrast, seth8, seth9, or seth10 pollen showed reduced competitive ability that was linked to slower rates of pollen tube growth. Gene sequences disrupted in seth insertions suggest essential functions for putative SETH proteins in diverse processes including protein anchoring, cell wall biosynthesis, signaling, and metabolism.




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