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Cloning and characterization of MS5 from Arabidopsis : a gene critical in male meiosis
Author(s) -
Glover Julie,
Grelon Mathilde,
Craig Stuart,
Chaudhury Abdul,
Dennis Elizabeth
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
the plant journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.058
H-Index - 269
eISSN - 1365-313X
pISSN - 0960-7412
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-313x.1998.00216.x
Subject(s) - genetics , biology , gene , mutant , complementation , locus (genetics) , allele , microbiology and biotechnology
Summary In this paper, we describe the cloning of theMS5gene, a gene essential for male fertility inArabidopsis. We previously defined theMS5locus by characterizing an EMS‐induced allele,ms5–1. We identified a new allele ofMS5(ms5–2) that was T‐DNA‐generated and used the T‐DNA tag to clone the gene. Sequencing of mutant and wild‐type alleles together with complementation of thems5–1mutant phenotype with a wild‐type genomic clone confirmed the identity of the gene. Differences between the phenotypes of the two mutant alleles could be attributed to differences in mutant gene structure. The semi‐dominant and dominant negative phenotypes of thems5–2mutant probably result from production of a truncated polypeptide. An unknown locus in Landsberg erecta can counteract the dominant negative phenotype ofms5–2. Mutations inMS5cause the formation of ‘polyads’– tetrads with more than four pools of chromosomes after male meiosis. Similarities between the MS5 sequence and that of a number of proteins were found; two that may be significant were with a synaptonemal complex protein and with a regulatory subunit of a cyclin‐dependent kinase. TheMS5gene is a member of a small gene family highly conserved amongst plant species.