91.
The superior performance of F
1 hybrids has a significant impact on agricultural productivity. For commercial application, the availability of an efficient
system for obtaining male-sterile lines of crops is an essential prerequisite. Here we have investigated the use of RNA interference
(RNAi) technology to silence a male-specific gene in the model host tobacco.
TA29 is expressed exclusively in anthers at the time of microspore development. About 10 out of 13 tobacco lines transformed with
a hairpin RNAi construct containing
TA29 sequences were male sterile. Transgenic plants were phenotypically indistinguishable from non-transgenic plants. At the anthesis
stage, pollen grains from transgenic, male-sterile plants were aborted and lysed in comparison to the round and fully developed
pollen in non-transgenic plants. Microscopic analysis of anthers showed selective degradation of tapetum in transgenic plants
with no microspore development. One week after self-pollination, the ovules of non-transgenic plants were double the size
of those in transgenic plants, due to successful self-fertilization. Male sterile transgenic plants set seed normally, when
cross-pollinated with pollen from non-transgenic plants, confirming no adverse effect on the female parts of the flower. These
results show that silencing of male-specific genes by RNAi is potentially a useful tool for generating male-sterile lines
for producing hybrid seed.
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