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Reference Report for RTN20170315.3
Title:Transposon Tagging of a Male-Sterility, Female-Sterility Gene, St8, Revealed that the Meiotic MER3 DNA Helicase Activity Is Essential for Fertility in Soybean
Authors:Baumbach, J., Pudake, R.N., Johnson, C., Kleinhans, K., Ollhoff, A., Palmer, R.G., Bhattacharyya, M.K., Sandhu, D.
Source:PLoS ONE 2016, 11(3):e0150482
Abstract:The W4 locus in soybean encodes a dihydroflavonol-4-reductase (DFR2) that regulates pig- mentation patterns in flowers and hypocotyl. The mutable w4-m allele that governs varie- gated flowers has arisen through insertion of a CACTA-type transposable element, Tgm9, in DFR2. In the w4-m line, reversion from variegated to purple flower indicates excision of Tgm9, and its insertion at a new locus. Previously, we have identified a male-sterile, female-sterile mutant among the selfed progenies of a revertant plant carrying only purple flowers. Co-segregation between Tgm9 and the sterility phenotype suggested that the mutant was generated by insertion of Tgm9 at the St8 locus. The transposon was localized to exon 10 of Glyma.16G072300 that shows high identity to the MER3 DNA helicase involved in crossing over. Molecular analysis of fertile branches from two independent revertant plants confirmed precise excision of Tgm9 from the st8 allele, which restored fertil- ity. In soybean, the gene is expressed in flower-buds, trifoliate leaves and stem. Phyloge- netic analysis placed St8 in a clade with the Arabidopsis and rice MER3 suggesting that St8 is most likely the orthologous MER3 soybean gene. This study established the utility of Tgm9 in gene identification as well as in forward and reverse genetics studies.






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