Transcriptome map of plant mitochondria reveals islands of unexpected transcribed regions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Plant mitochondria contain a relatively large amount of genetic information, suggesting that their functional regulation may not be as straightforward as that of metazoans. We used a genomic tiling array to draw a transcriptomic atlas of <it>Oryza sativa japonica </it>(rice) mitochondria, which was predicted to be approximately 490-kb long.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Whereas statistical analysis verified the transcription of all previously known functional genes such as the ones related to oxidative phosphorylation, a similar extent of RNA expression was frequently observed in the inter-genic regions where none of the previously annotated genes are located. The newly identified open reading frames (ORFs) predicted in these transcribed inter-genic regions were generally not conserved among flowering plant species, suggesting that these ORFs did not play a role in mitochondrial principal functions. We also identified two partial fragments of retrotransposon sequences as being transcribed in rice mitochondria.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study indicated the previously unexpected complexity of plant mitochondrial RNA metabolism. Our transcriptomic data (<it>Oryza sativa </it>Mitochondrial rna Expression Server: OsMES) is publicly accessible at [<url>http://bioinf.mind.meiji.ac.jp/cgi-bin/gbrowse/OsMes/#search</url>].</p

Selection of early maturing and high yielding mutants of Toraja Local Red Rice Grown from M2-M3 Population after Ion Beam Irradiation

This study aims to obtain the genotype of local Toraja red rice M2 mutants that have the potential to be developed into early maturing varieties and have high yields. Research carried out with a mass selection method consisting of two irradiation treatments, namely: (1) irradiation with a Carbon ion dose of 150 Gy (PL-C); (2) irradiation with Argon ion dose of 10 Gy (PL-A) and control as a comparison. Selected strains of M2 seed population were planted in experimental strains plus 2 strains as control, each row had 50 plants. Selection is done in two stages. The first stage, the selection is based on the criteria of plant growth components, to select rice plants that have early-middle age characters, dwarf-semi-dwarf, and many tillers. The second stage, selected strains from the scoring method were then grouped based on the degree of similarity with the cluster analysis method. Irradiation with ion beams produces mutants with shorter harvest times than their parents, with the harvest time 16-17 days or 10% shorter compared to their parents. This study produced 10 selected strains, 5 strains of carbon ion and 5 strains of argon ion irradiation treatment, and formed 5 groups with a 90% similarity coefficient

Whole Mitochondrial Genome Sequencing and Re-Examination of a Cytoplasmic Male Sterility-Associated Gene in Boro-Taichung-Type Cytoplasmic Male Sterile Rice

<div><p>Nuclear genome substitutions between subspecies can lead to cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) through incompatibility between nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Boro-Taichung (BT)-type CMS rice was obtained by substituting the nuclear genome of <i>Oryza sativa</i> subsp. <i>indica</i> cultivar Chinsurah Boro II with that of <i>Oryza sativa</i> subsp. <i>japonica</i> cultivar Taichung 65. In BT-type CMS rice, the mitochondrial gene <i>orf79</i> is associated with male sterility. A complete sequence of the Boro-type mitochondrial genome responsible for BT-type CMS has not been determined to date. Here, we used pyrosequencing to construct the Boro-type mitochondrial genome. The contiguous sequences were assembled into five circular DNA molecules, four of which could be connected into a single circle. The two resulting subgenomic circles were unable to form a reliable master circle, as recombination between them was scarcely detected. We also found an unequal abundance of DNA molecules for the two loci of <i>atp6</i>. These results indicate the presence of multi-partite DNA molecules in the Boro-type mitochondrial genome. Expression patterns were investigated for Boro-type mitochondria-specific <i>orf</i>s, which were not found in the mitochondria from the standard <i>japonica</i> cultivar Nipponbare. Restorer of fertility 1 (RF1)-dependent RNA processing has been observed in <i>orf79</i>-containing RNA but was not detected in other Boro-type mitochondria-specific <i>orf</i>s, supporting the conclusion that <i>orf79</i> is a unique CMS-associated gene in Boro-type mitochondria.</p></div

Genetic analysis of male sterility obtained from a rice cultivar Lebed backcrossed with Taichung 65

Abstract Background Male sterility is a useful agronomic trait for breeding of self-pollinating crops and is often observed in the progenies of hybrids of distantly related species, for example, Oryza sativa L. subsp. indica and O. sativa L. subsp. japonica. To explore new male sterile lines in rice, we performed successive backcrosses using a japonica cultivar Taichung 65 (T65) as a recurrent pollen parent and various indica cultivars as the initial female parents. Findings We observed male sterile plants in the backcross progeny from an indica cultivar, Lebed. Both fertile and sterile plants were present in the BC4F1 generation. The sterile plants segregated for fertile and sterile plants when backcrossed with T65 in BC5F1, BC6F1 and BC7F1 with a ratio of 1:1. Conversely, all the backcross progenies from the fertile BC4F1 were consistently fertile. Anthers of the male sterile line were stunted and did not shed pollen; cross-sectional observations revealed defects in sporophytic cells. The male sterility appears to be caused by heterozygous alleles derived from T65 and Lebed. A male sterility gene was mapped between two INDEL markers on the long arm of chromosome 10, which corresponded to a 407 kb region in the Nipponbare genome. Conclusions Since the heterozygous Lebed allele acts as dominant sporophytic pollen killer, it would be useful for recurrent selection breeding of japonica rice