单子叶植物无融合生殖的研究进展

植物的无融合生殖是指不经过雌雄配子融合而产生种子的一种特殊生殖方式。由于利用无融合生殖途径可以固定杂种优势,从而改良现有植物的育种策略,因此对无融合生殖的研究已成为生物学科的新生长点。本文主要从无融合生殖的概念和类型,无融合生殖在单子叶植物中的分布,无融合生殖的胚胎学,分子生物学和遗传学机制及创造新的无融合生殖种质资源的方法等6方面对单子叶植物的无融合生殖的研究进展进行了综述,并提出了今后开展无融合生殖研究的思路和设想。     

单子叶植物无融合生殖的研究进展

植物的无融合生殖是指不经过雌雄配子融合而产生种子的一种特殊生殖方式。由于利用无融合生殖途径可以固定杂种优势 ,从而改良现有植物的育种策略 ,因此对无融合生殖的研究已成为生物学科的新生长点。本文主要从无融合生殖的概念和类型 ,无融合生殖在单子叶植物中的分布 ,无融合生殖的胚胎学 ,分子生物学和遗传学机制及创造新的无融合生殖种质资源的方法等 6方面对单子叶植物的无融合生殖的研究进展进行了综述 ,并提出了今后开展无融合生殖研究的思路和设想     

崛起的生物学科生长点──无融合生殖学

无融合生殖是与有性生殖、无性生殖并存的三大生殖系统之一。自从１７４５年发现弧雄生殖现象以来,关于无融合生殖的分类、形态结构、胚胎发生、遗传进化、生理生化等方面的研究不断开展,已从３６个科３００多种植物中发现无融合生殖现象。特别是八十年代以来,无融合生殖研究已成为生物学科的新热点。全世界几十个国家,２００多个实验室正在从事这一研究。国际性无融合生殖研究协作网已经成立。国际性学术会议相继召开。关于无融合生殖的专著已经出版,专门杂志也已问世。这些事实说明,无融合生殖学这个生物学科的生长点已经崛起。但是由于无融合生殖所具有的特殊性给研究带来许多困难,给生物学科的诸多领域留下了不少空白点和世纪性难题。有关无融合生殖的概念和范围,无融合生殖的遗传,无融合生殖是进化还是退化,无融合生殖在胚胎学、生殖生物学、发育生物学中的重大问题,如：为何无融合生殖植物大小孢子母细胞分裂行为不一致？二倍体孢子生殖中大孢子母细胞胼胝质缺乏是无融合生殖的因还是果？怎样理解同一珠心组织中不同细胞分化？无融合生殖胆和胚乳的形成机制和相互关系以及在作物育种中应用的诱人前景都是当前研究的热门话题。本文都进行了必要的介绍和讨论。     

植物无融合生殖相关基因研究进展

无融合生殖是指不经过精卵融合即可形成胚从而进行种子繁殖后代的一种特殊的无性生殖方式, 无融合生殖胚的形成没有父本的参与, 其后代是母本基因型的完整克隆, 因此是植物杂种优势固定与利用的一种最理想的途径, 具有巨大的潜在利用价值, 被誉为“无性革命”。按其胚体发生的途径, 无融合生殖可分为二倍体孢子生殖、无配子生殖和不定胚生殖三种类型。本文介绍了植物胚发育、胚乳发育、减数分裂等涉及无融合生殖过程的相关基因的研究进展, 同时介绍了可能与植物无融合生殖途径调控相关的几个基因片段的研究情况。     

植物无融合生殖鉴定方法的研究进展

由于利用无融合生殖途径可以固定杂种优势,从而改良现有植物的育种策略,因此对无融合生殖的研究已成为生物学科的新生长点,为了利用植物的无融合生殖,首先必须建立,发展和完善一套简单,准确的鉴定体系,目前有关植物无融合生殖的鉴定的方法,主要可以分为5大类型：（1）形态学观察法;（2）显微观察法;（3）生化鉴定法;（4）分子生物学的方法;（5）其它方法,主要对以上5类方法的各各鉴定方法进行了介绍,对几种已被证实有效方法的优缺点进行了比较,并就今后的改进方向进行了探讨。     

植物无融合生殖的筛选和鉴定研究进展

植物无融合生殖具有复杂的发育过程,与细胞学、遗传学、生物化学和分子生物学等相关的各种技术均被应用于植物无融合生殖的筛选和鉴定.本文结合新近发表的研究文献,介绍了常规的植物无融合生殖筛选和鉴定技术的新应用,评介了流式细胞种子筛选技术、胚珠整体透明技术、外源标记基因转入法等植物无融合生殖筛选和鉴定的新技术,并对各种筛选和鉴定技术的优势和不足进行了评述.     

雀稗属无融合生殖研究进展

雀稗属(Paspalum)为禾本科黍亚科多年生或一年生植物,是黍亚科内最有经济价值的类群之一。雀稗属植物种群极其复杂,大多数为多倍体。由于多倍体的存在及有性生殖的自交不亲和等原因,雀稗属植物表现出复杂多样的生殖特性,是禾本科中具备无融合生殖特性种类最多的属。对雀稗属无融合生殖的分布、无融合生殖相关的细胞学和胚胎学基础、无融合生殖的特点及其遗传学和分子生物学研究进展进行了综述。     

植物无融合生殖的遗传机理和分子机理的研究进展

利用植物无融合生殖固定杂种优势,已被认为是一条生产杂交种子的高效途径。近年来,由于RAPD、RFLP和差异显示等技术的应用,已使植物无融合生殖的研究面貌一新。特别是一系列与无融合生殖有关的特异DNA片段的发现,为深入了解其遗传机理和分子机理增加了大量新的知识,这些知识无疑为定位和克隆植物无融合生殖基因,进而利用遗传操作的手段来改变植物的生殖方式积累了必要的理论基础。本文对植物无融合生殖遗传机理和分子机理的研究进展作了综述。 Abstract:Apomixis allows the establishment of genetically stable seed propagating clones of crops,which can perpetuate themselves across countless sporophytic generations.This asexual mode of reproduction,which naturally occurs in some angiosperms,may prove to be an unrivalled tool to improve crop yields.The current state of knowledge on the molecular and genetic basis of apomixis is reviewed.     

植物无融合生殖研究新进展

无融合生殖是指不经过雌雄配子融合而产生种子的一种特殊生殖方式,能使基因型的杂合性得以保持,从而可以固定杂种优势,对作物育种具有极其重要的意义。目前大量的研究都在设法将无融合生殖作为一种重要的植物育种手段。本文对近几年来无融合生殖新种质资源的发现、主要研究方法、遗传机制和相关基因等方面的最新进展作了介绍,并对无融合生殖研究中存在的问题和发展前景作了讨论。     

水稻中的无融合生殖研究及问题

本文综述了植物无融合生殖概念的发展历史。简述了目前报道的裟上主要无融合生殖材料的特点特征以及近年来的一些新进展。同时指出了水稻无融合生殖研究中存在的问题和注意事项。     

A current perspective on apomixis in ferns

This review provides a synopsis of apogamous reproduction in ferns and highlights important progress made in recent studies of fern apomixis. First, a summary of the apomictic fern life cycle is provided, distinguishing between two pathways to diploid spore production that have been documented in apomictic ferns (premeiotic endomitosis and meiotic first division restitution) and briefly discussing the evolutionary implications of each. Next, recent trends in fern apomixis research are discussed, exposing a shift in focus from the observation and characterization of apomixis in ferns to more integrated studies of the evolutionary and ecological implications of this reproductive mode. Peer-reviewed contributions from the past decade are then summarized, spanning the identification of new apomictic lineages through to the developmental, phylogenetic, and population genetic insights that have been made in studies of fern apomixis during that time. Gaps in our understanding are also discussed, including the extent and implications of recombinant apomixis in ferns, the possible reversibility of reproductive mode (from apomictic to sexual) in ferns, and the genomic causes and consequences of apomixis in seed free vascular plants. To conclude, future directions for fern apomixis research are proposed in the context of modern technological advances and recent insights from studies of apomixis in other groups.     

MIME--有丝分裂替代减数分裂及其在作物无融合生殖中的应用

无融合生殖因其在杂种优势固定中的巨大潜力而受到广泛关注,人工创制无融合生殖是当前无融合生殖研究的重要方向,有丝分裂替代减数分裂(Mitosis instead of Meiosis,MIME)能产生与母本遗传组成完全一致的二倍体配子,是人工创制无融合生殖的关键步骤。文中对MIME的发生及其在作物无融合生殖中的应用以及MIME应用中的问题进行综述,以期为扩大MIME在作物无融合生殖中的应用提供参考。     

Apomixis in plant reproduction: a novel perspective on an old dilemma

Seed is one of the key factors of crop productivity. Therefore, a comprehension of the mechanisms underlying seed formation in cultivated plants is crucial for the quantitative and qualitative progress of agricultural production. In angiosperms, two pathways of reproduction through seed exist: sexual or amphimictic, and asexual or apomictic; the former is largely exploited by seed companies for breeding new varieties, whereas the latter is receiving continuously increasing attention from both scientific and industrial sectors in basic research projects. If apomixis is engineered into sexual crops in a controlled manner, its impact on agriculture will be broad and profound. In fact, apomixis will allow clonal seed production and thus enable efficient and consistent yields of high-quality seeds, fruits, and vegetables at lower costs. The development of apomixis technology is expected to have a revolutionary impact on agricultural and food production by reducing cost and breeding time, and avoiding the complications that are typical of sexual reproduction (e.g., incompatibility barriers) and vegetative propagation (e.g., viral transfer). However, the development of apomixis technology in agriculture requires a deeper knowledge of the mechanisms that regulate reproductive development in plants. This knowledge is a necessary prerequisite to understanding the genetic control of the apomictic process and its deviations from the sexual process. Our molecular understanding of apomixis will be greatly advanced when genes that are specifically or differentially expressed during embryo and embryo sac formation are discovered. In our review, we report the main findings on this subject by examining two approaches: i) analysis of the apomictic process in natural apomictic species to search for genes controlling apomixis and ii) analysis of gene mutations resembling apomixis or its components in species that normally reproduce sexually. In fact, our opinion is that a novel perspective on this old dilemma pertaining to the molecular control of apomixis can emerge from a cross-check among candidate genes in natural apomicts and a high-throughput analysis of sexual mutants.     

Apomixis technology and the paradox of sex

Most plant species produce genetically variable seeds by the fusion of meiotically reduced egg cells and pollen grains. However, a small proportion of seed plants produces clonal, asexual seeds by the process of apomixis. The fixation of heterosis by apomixis is of great interest for plant breeding. The prospect of changing sexual crop species into apomictic crop species by genetic engineering--apomixis technology--has recently caused a boom in apomixis research. According to evolutionary biological theories, a dominant apomixis gene will rapidly become fixed in an outcrossing sexual population. Therefore, in theory, apomixis transgenes could have unconditional advantages that could result in the uncontrollable spread of the transgenes. By contrast, 'classic' transgenes might only have conditional advantages. Paradoxically, sexual reproduction and not apomixis is common in nature. However, this is no guarantee that apomixis transgenes will be ecologically safe because there could be essential differences between natural and transgenic apomicts.     

Sexual and apomictic plant reproduction in the genomics era: exploring the mechanisms potentially useful in crop plants

Arabidopsis, Mimulus and tomato have emerged as model plants in researching genetic and molecular basis of differences in mating systems. Variations in floral traits and loss of self-incompatibility have been associated with mating system differences in crops. Genomics research has advanced considerably, both in model and crop plants, which may provide opportunities to modify breeding systems as evidenced in Arabidopsis and tomato. Mating system, however, not recombination per se, has greater effect on the level of polymorphism. Generating targeted recombination remains one of the most important factors for crop genetic enhancement. Asexual reproduction through seeds or apomixis, by producing maternal clones, presents a tremendous potential for agriculture. Although believed to be under simple genetic control, recent research has revealed that apomixis results as a consequence of the deregulation of the timing of sexual events rather than being the product of specific apomixis genes. Further, forward genetic studies in Arabidopsis have permitted the isolation of novel genes reported to control meiosis I and II entry. Mutations in these genes trigger the production of unreduced or apomeiotic megagametes and are an important step toward understanding and engineering apomixis.     

Optimization theory in plant evolution: An overview of long-term evolutionary prospects in the angiosperms

Examination of literature shows that a number of authors regard outbreeding and heterozygosity as the prevalent factors associated with long-term successful evolution in the angiosperms. A number of plant evolutionists, however, have doubted the truth of such an assumption. Everincreasing reports of the existence of arboreal angiospermous apomixis in tropical forests of the Neotropics and the Far East undermined a thinking which, recently, has rested on optimality. Finding apomixis in trees surprised authors, who held biased opinions about the determinism of outbreeding as the major guiding factor in the evolutionary history of the angiosperms. The thinking that apomixis may turn out to be a regular mating system of the flowering plants met with the approval of some authors, who wondered about the true penetration of the phenomenon among the higher plants. The fact that one-third of all known flowering plants are autogamous has cast further doubt on the deterministic infallibility of outbreeding and successful long-term evolution. Despite claims that the breeding system is directly involved with fitness, while determining the course of optimized evolution, there is comparatively little hard evidence to substantiate a hypothesis which, in the last analysis, has rested principally on common sense. Rather, if continuing field research happens to unveil new cases of woody angiospermous apomixis, a prediction is advanced that the next two biomes to show regular incidence of the phenomenon are Africa’s paleotropical savannas and humid forests. If evolution is partly or wholly dependent on the breeding system to proceed, current knowledge supports views that further enhancement of organic diversification vis-à-vis selection and adaptednesss rests on three major tested mating systems: outbreeding, inbreeding and apomixis.     

Problems of apomictic reproduction in the FamiliesCompositae andRosaceae

For many years several taxa belonging to the familiesCompositae andRosaceae have been subjected to an intensive research on apomixis. These two families, together with theGramineae have headed the list of the most thoroughly examined taxonomic groups in this field. At present, new methods are being elaborated and new problems solved within the following genera known to be apomictic, viz.Antennaria, Hieracium, Taraxacum, Alchemilla, Potentilla andRubus. Many general problems still require more attention in future studies. Seven of them are considered in the present article: 1. frequency of apomixis; 2. occurrence of apospory and diplospory within one taxon; 3. nonfunctional apospory; 4. facultativeness of autonomous apomixis; 5. origin of endosperm; 6. timing of embryo and endosperm development in apomicts; 7. instability of the endosperm type. BothCompositae andRosaceae produce suitable material for such research projects.