The cellulose synthase-like gene CaCslD1 is required for male fertility in pepper

• Published in: Scientia horticulturae Vol. 337; p. 113491
• Main Authors: Wang, Yuhang, Duan, Panpan, Wei, Min, Zhang, Tao, Kang, Jingtao, Huang, Mianzhu, Ma, Yan, Zhang, Gaoyuan, Wei, Bingqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.11.2024
• Subjects: Cellulose synthase-like genes; Cytoplasmic male sterility; Fertility; Pepper; Cellulose synthase-like genes; Pepper; Fertility; Cytoplasmic male sterility
• ISSN: 0304-4238
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113491

•This study determined that the cellulose synthase-like gene CaCslD1 was specifically expressed in fertile anthers of pepper.•Down-regulation of CaCslD1 expression caused anther crumpling and pollen grain shrinking and decreased pollen viability of pepper.•CaCslD1 was involved in the regulation of male fertility in pepper. Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) plays a pivotal role in harnessing heterosis, which is of great significance for improving the yield and quality of hybrids. In our previous study, a cellulose synthase-like genes, CaCslD1, was characterized to be related to the fertility of CMS by bulked segregant RNA sequencing (BSR-seq) in pepper. In this study, CaCslD1 exhibited strongly specific expression in anther compared to the other tissues of flower buds in pepper. The expressing profiles of CaCslD1 was highest in the hybrid F1 (H1, H2 and H3) of CMS lines and restorer lines, followed by restorer lines (R1, R2, and R3) and maintainer line (M1, M2 and M3), while it showed negligible expression in CMS lines. The CaCslD1-silenced plants of maintainer line 5B, R1 and F1 showed abnormal phenotypic characterized by crumpled anthers, reduced and defective pollen grains and decreased pollen activities, which suggested that CaCslD1 played an important role in anther and pollen development and was involved in the fertility regulation in pepper. These results provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of fertility in pepper.