Project description:DNA metabarcoding unveils the effects of habitat fragmentation on pollinator diversity, plant-pollinator interactions and pollination efficiency in tropical islands
Project description:Transcriptional analysis of stigmas was performed to identify molecules functioning in compatible pollination. Stigmas of A. thaliana Col-0 were collected (i) at 0 min or 15 min after pollination and (ii) before or at 15 min after pollen coat adhesion, and used for microarray analysis. Genes up-regulated after pollination and after pollen coat adhesion were identified. .
Project description:Transcriptional analysis of stigmas was performed to identify molecules functioning in compatible pollination. Stigmas of A. thaliana Col-0 were collected (i) at 0 min or 15 min after pollination and (ii) before or at 15 min after pollen coat adhesion, and used for microarray analysis. Genes up-regulated after pollination and after pollen coat adhesion were identified. . Four-condition experiment, stigmas at 0 min vs. 15 min after pollination; stigmas before vs. at 15 min after pollen coat adhesion.
Project description:Successful pollination brings together the mature pollen grain and stigma papilla to initiate an intricate series of molecular processes meant to eventually enable sperm cell delivery for fertilization and reproduction. At maturity, the pollen and stigma cells have acquired proteomes comprising the primary molecular effectors required upon their meeting. In Brassica species, knowledge of the roles and global composition of these proteomes is largely lacking. To address this gap, gel-free shotgun proteomics was performed on the mature pollen and stigma of Brassica carinata, a representative of the Brassica family and its many crop species (e.g. B. napus, B. oleracea, B. rapa), which holds considerable potential as a bio-industrial crop. 5608 and 7703 B. carinata mature pollen and stigma proteins were identified, respectively. The pollen and stigma proteomes were found to reflect not only their many common functional and developmental objectives, but also important differences underlying their cellular specialization. Isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) was exploited in the first analysis of a developing Brassicaceae stigma, and uncovered 251 B. carinata proteins that were differentially abundant during stigma maturation, providing insight into proteins involved in the initial phases of pollination.
Project description:Flowering plants have immotile sperm that develop within pollen and must be carried to female gametes by a pollen tube. The pollen tube engages in molecular interactions with several cell types within the pistil and these interactions are essential for successful fertilization. We identified a group of three closely related pollen tube-expressed MYB transcription factors (MYB97, MYB101, MYB120), which are required for proper interaction of the pollen tube with the female gametophyte. These transcription factors are transcriptionally induced during growth in the pistil. They regulate a transcriptional network leading to proper differentiation and maturation of the pollen tube, promoting proper pollen tube-ovule interactions resulting in sperm release and double fertilization. We used microarrays to discover genes regulated by the transcription factors MYB97, MYB101 and MYB120 in pollen tubes growing through the pistil at 8 hours after pollination.
Project description:In this study, we sequenced four small RNA libraries derived from mature pollens, in vitro germinated pollens, mature silks and pollinated silks of maize, respectively. In total, 161 known miRNAs belonging to 27 families and 82 novel miRNAs were identified. Of them, miRNAs involved in pollen-silk (pistil) interactions were analyzed. On the male side, miRNA differentially expressed between mature and germinated pollen were identified, some of them participate in pollen germination and tube growth. On the female side, silk-expressed miRNAs respond to pollination were also responsive to stresses, especially drought and fungal invasion. Furthermore, GO analysis of target genes revealed that members related to anxin signal transduction and gene expressional regulation were overrepresented.The results indicated that during pollen-silk interactions, miRNAs-mediated auxin signal transduction plays important roles, and miRNAs took part in complex transcriptional regulating network.
Project description:Oryza longistaminata is an African wild rice species that possesses special traits for breeding applications. Self-incompatibility is the main cause of sterility in O. longistaminata, but here we demonstrated that its pollen fertility and vitality are normal. Lipid and carbohydrate metabolism were active throughout pollen development. In this study, transcriptomics quantitative analysis was used to investigate the profiles of genes related to lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in 4-, 6- and 8.5-mm O. longistaminata spikelets before flowering. We documented cytological changes throughout important stages of anther development, including changes in reproductive cells as they formed mature pollen grains through meiosis and mitosis. RNA-seq and proteome association analysis indicated that fatty acids were converted to sucrose after the 6-mm spikelet stage, based on the abundance of most key enzymes of the glyoxylate cycle and gluconeogenesis. In conclusion, our study provides novel insights into the pollen viability of O. longistaminata at the transcriptome level, which can be used to improve the efficiency of male parent pollination in hybrid rice breeding applications.