AUTHOR=Huang Shengnan , Liu Zhiyong , Li Chengyu , Yao Runpeng , Li Danyang , Hou Li , Li Xiang , Liu Wenjie , Feng Hui 

TITLE=Transcriptome Analysis of a Female-sterile Mutant (fsm) in Chinese Cabbage (Brassica campestris ssp. pekinensis)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2017.00546

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2017.00546

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Female-sterile mutants are ideal materials for studying pistil development in plants. Here, we identified a female-sterile mutant <italic>fsm</italic> in Chinese cabbage. This mutant, which exhibited stable inheritance, was derived from Chinese cabbage DH line ‘FT’ using a combination of isolated microspore culture and ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis. Compared with the wild-type line ‘FT,’ the <italic>fsm</italic> plants exhibited pistil abortion, and floral organs were also relatively smaller. Genetic analysis indicated that the phenotype of <italic>fsm</italic> is controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene. Morphological observations revealed that the presence of abnormal ovules in <italic>fsm</italic> likely influenced normal fertilization process, ultimately leading to female sterility. Comparative transcriptome analysis on the flower buds of ‘FT’ and <italic>fsm</italic> using RNA-Seq revealed a total of 1,872 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Of these, a number of genes involved in pistil development were identified, such as <italic>PRETTY FEW SEEDS 2</italic> (<italic>PFS2</italic>), <italic>temperature-induced lipocalin</italic> (<italic>TIL</italic>), <italic>AGAMOUS-LIKE</italic> (<italic>AGL</italic>), and <italic>HECATE</italic> (<italic>HEC</italic>). Furthermore, GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses of the DEGs suggested that a variety of biological processes and metabolic pathways are significantly enriched during pistil development. In addition, the expression patterns of 16 DEGs, including four pistil development-related genes and 12 floral organ development-related genes, were analyzed using qRT-PCR. A total of 31,272 single nucleotide polymorphisms were specifically detected in <italic>fsm</italic>. These results contribute to shed light on the regulatory mechanisms underlying pistil development in Chinese cabbage.</p>