Development of transgenic male-sterile rice by using anther-specific promoters identified by comprehensive screening of the gene expression profile database ‘RiceXPro’

• Published in: Breeding Science Vol. 68; no. 4; pp. 420 - 431
• Main Authors: Akasaka, Maiko, Taniguchi, Yojiro, Oshima, Masao, Abe, Kiyomi, Tabei, Yutaka, Tanaka, Junichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Japanese Society of Breeding 2018; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Animal behavior; anther-specific promoter; Barnase; Breeding; Crops; Cultivars; Developmental stages; Flowering; flowering habits; Gene expression; Genes; male-sterility; Oryza sativa; outcrossing; Plant breeding; Promoters; Research Paper; Rice; rice (Oryza sativa L.); RiceXPro; Sterility; rice (Oryza sativa L.); anther-specific promoter; RiceXPro; barnase; male-sterility; outcrossing; flowering habits
• ISSN: 1344-7610; 1347-3735
• DOI: 10.1270/jsbbs.18019

Because genomic selection is designed for the population breeding of allogamous species, a successive outcrossing system is required for efficient use of genomic selection in autogamous crops, such as Oryza sativa L. (rice). Transgenic and dominant male-sterility is a suitable tool for efficient outcrossing of autogamous crops. Though there have been some reports of dominant male-sterile rice developed using transgenic technology, the flowering habit was substandard. Here, to isolate promoters that, when linked to a lethal gene, induce dominant male-sterility while retaining a good flowering habit, we identified 38 candidate genes with anther-specific expression by using the ‘RiceXPro’ database. We then evaluated the abilities of the near-upstream regions of these genes to induce male-sterility when linked to the lethal gene barnase and introduced into the rice cultivar ‘Nipponbare’. Seven of the 38 promoters induced clear dominant male-sterility; promoters expressed in the later stage of anther development induced male-sterility while retaining better flowering habits when compared to ones expressed in the early stage. These seven promoters could potentially be used to facilitate development of an efficient outcross-based breeding system in rice.