Transcriptional gene silencing in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and its application to regulate male fertility for hybrid seed production

Transcriptional gene silencing in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and its application to regulate male fertility for hybrid seed production

Summary Transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) can offer a straightforward tool for functional analysis of plant genes, particularly in polyploid species such as wheat, where genetic redundancy poses a challenge in applying mutagenesis approaches, including CRISPR gene editing. In this study, we demon...

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Published in:Plant biotechnology journal Vol. 20; no. 11; pp. 2149 - 2158
Main Authors: Singh, Manjit, Kumar, Manish, Califf, Kara E., Cigan, A. Mark
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Southampton John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-11-2022
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Subjects:
Corn
CRISPR
Design
DNA methylation
Fertility
Functional analysis
Gene expression
Gene silencing
Genes
Genetic engineering
Genetic modification
Genome editing
Genomes
Genomics
Genotype & phenotype
hybrid seed production
Hybrid systems
hybrid wheat
Inverted repeat
Male sterility
Males
Mutagenesis
Mutation
Nucleotide sequence
Plant breeding
pollen
Polyploidy
Redundancy
Rice
Seeds
transcriptional gene silencing
Triticum aestivum
Wheat
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Summary:Summary Transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) can offer a straightforward tool for functional analysis of plant genes, particularly in polyploid species such as wheat, where genetic redundancy poses a challenge in applying mutagenesis approaches, including CRISPR gene editing. In this study, we demonstrate efficient TGS in wheat, mediated by constitutive RNA expression of a promoter inverted repeat (pIR). pIR‐mediated TGS of two anther‐specific genes, TaMs45 and TaMs1, abolished their function resulting in male sterility. Whilst TGS of TaMs45 required transcriptional silencing of all three homoeologs, a B‐genome‐specific pIR for TaMs1 was sufficient to confer male sterility. We further show that the pIRs effect TGS of TaMs45 gene through DNA methylation of homologous promoter sequence, successfully suppressing transcription of all three homoeologs. Applying pIR‐mediated TGS in wheat, we have generated a dominant male fertility system for production of hybrid seed and demonstrated the efficacy of this system under greenhouse and field conditions. This report describes the first successful TGS in wheat, whilst providing a dominant negative approach as alternative to gene knockout strategies for hybrid wheat breeding and seed production.
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ISSN:1467-7644
1467-7652
DOI:10.1111/pbi.13895