Apomixis: Molecular Strategies for the Generation of Genetically Identical Seeds without Fertilization.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A. M. Koltunow.
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We identified two Arabidopsis embryo mutants, designated as raspberry1 and raspberry2, by screening T-DNA-mutagenized Arabidopsis lines. Embryogenesis in these mutants is indistinguishable from that of wild-type plants until the late-globular stage, after which raspberry1 and raspberry2 embryos fail to undergo the transition to heart stage, remain globular shaped, and proliferate an enlarged suspensor region. raspberry1 and raspberry2 embryo-proper regions enlarge during embryogenesis, become highly vacuolate, and display prominent convex, or "raspberry-like" protuberances on their outer cell layers. In situ hybridization studies with several embryo cell-specific mRNA probes indicated that the raspberry1 and raspberry2 embryo-proper regions differentiate tissue layers in their correct spatial contexts and that the regulation of cell-specific genes within these layers is normal. Surprisingly, a similar spatial and temporal pattern of mRNA accumulation occurs within the enlarged suspensor region of raspberry1 and raspberry2 embryos, suggesting that a defect in embryo-proper morphogenesis can cause the suspensor to take on an embryo-proper-like state and differentiate a radial tissue-type axis. We conclude that cell differentiation can occur in the absence of both organ formation and morphogenesis during plant embryogenesis and that interactions occur between the embryo-proper and suspensor regions.
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We studied the temporal and spatial regulation of three mRNA sequence sets that are present exclusively, or at elevated levels, in the tobacco anther. One mRNA set accumulates in the tapetum and decays as the tapetum degenerates later in anther development. The second mRNA set accumulates after the tapetal-specific mRNAs, is localized within the stomium and connective, and also decays as these cell types degenerate during anther maturation. The third mRNA sequence set persists throughout anther development and is localized within most anther tissues. A tapetal-specific gene, designated as TA29, was isolated from a tobacco genome library. Runoff transcription studies and experiments with chimeric [beta]-glucuronidase and diphtheria toxin A-chain genes showed that the TA29 gene is regulated primarily at the transcriptional level and that a 122-base pair 5[prime] region can program the tapetal-specific expression pattern. Destruction of the tapetum by the cytotoxic gene had no effect on the differentiation and/or function of surrounding sporophytic tissues but led to the production of male-sterile plants. Together, our studies show that several independent gene expression programs occur during anther development and that these programs correlate with the differentiated state of specific anther cell types.