A ras GTPase-activating protein-binding protein, TaG3BP, associated with the modulation of male fertility in a thermo-sensitive cytoplasmic male sterile wheat line.

Hybrid wheat development may contribute to higher, more stable yield and could result in greater food security for much of the world's growing population. YS type thermo-sensitive cytoplasmic male sterile (TCMS) wheat lines were developed for use in hybrid wheat breeding in China. To investigate the molecular mechanism of modulation of male fertility in the YS-type TCMS wheat lines, a ras GTPase-activating protein-binding protein (TaG3BP) was examined. The deduced amino acid sequence encoded by TaG3BP was conserved in the sequenced genomes of Embryophyte. TaG3BP expression in the anthers of YS-type TCMS lines taken at the critical fertility reversion stage of pollen development from male fertile anthers was higher than that from male-sterile anthers, either by quantitative real-time PCR or by western blot analysis. Sequence analysis on the cDNA and genomic DNA of TaG3BP in three kinds of K-type CMS wheat lines and their maintainers indicated that there were no significant difference between the genes or in their 5' flanking sequences. The TaG3BP expression revealed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR was lower in the young spikes of these CMS lines than that of their maintainers. This indicates that TaG3BP expression is associated with the modulation, from male-sterile to fertile, of the TCMS wheat line, and TaG3BP might be a key factor in the pathway responsible for the fertility reversion.