Meiosis in Plants: sexual reproduction, genetic variation and crop improvement

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Background

Sperm and eggs are produced by meiotic cell division. The central events in meiosis include homologous chromosome (homologs) pairing, synapsis, recombination and segregation. During meiotic recombination, DNA is exchanged between homologs which results in genotypic and phenotypic variation among progeny. Meiotic errors, including errors in homolog interaction, and the frequency and distribution of recombination events can cause chromosome number imbalances (aneuploidy), chromosomal rearrangements and failure to complete meiosis, which in turn can influence the formation and quality of gametes, as well as plant fertility and developmental health. The goal of plant breeding is to construct new combinations of elite traits. These novel combinations are achieved by recombining parental chromosomes. Therefore, the ability to control the frequency of meiotic recombination is an attractive goal for Ag-biotech.

Over the past several decades, using molecular and cytogenetic methods, many components of the core mechanisms required for meiosis have been described the model flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and more recently those findings have been translated and expanded in commercial plant species including rice, maize, tomato, soybean and others. Recent research in understanding the core meiotic machinery is regulated by accessory factors and by transcriptional and post-translational control levels have broadened the basic research field and created new opportunities for crop improvement. Importantly, the development of rapid, precise and relatively inexpensive novel gene editing techniques have enhanced the feasibility of translating this new knowledge into innovative applied areas. The goal of this Research Topic is to focus on recent research in plant meiosis conducted in both model and non-model plant species, highlighting cutting edge basic research discoveries, and spotlighting novel bioengineering approaches that modulate meiosis and recombination to enhance agriculture.

We welcome submissions of different types of manuscripts including original research papers, reviews, and methods, including but not limited to:
• Regulatory mechanisms of meiosis
• Meiosis in non-model species
• Meiotic recombination in agricultural applications

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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