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BICELLULAR POLLEN 1 is a modulator of DNA replication and pollen development in Arabidopsis
Author(s) -
Long YanPing,
Xie DongJiang,
Zhao YanYan,
Shi DongQiao,
Yang WeiCai
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.15610
Subject(s) - biology , pollen , arabidopsis , dna replication , microbiology and biotechnology , cell division , cell cycle , gametogenesis , microspore , genetics , dna , licensing factor , mutant , eukaryotic dna replication , gene , cell , botany , stamen , embryogenesis
Summary During male gametogenesis in Arabidopsis , the haploid microspore undergoes an asymmetric division to produce a vegetative and a generative cell, the latter of which continues to divide symmetrically to form two sperms. This simple system couples cell cycle with cell fate specification. Here we addressed the role of DNA replication in male gametogenesis using a mutant bicellular pollen 1 ( bice1 ), which produces bicellular, rather than tricellular, pollen grains as in the wild‐type plant at anthesis. The mutation prolonged DNA synthesis of the generative cell, which resulted in c . 40% of pollen grains arrested at the two‐nucleate stage. The extended S phase did not impact the cell fate of the generative cell as shown by cell‐specific markers. BICE 1 encodes a plant homolog of human D123 protein that is required for G1 progression, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Here we showed that BICE 1 interacts with MCM 4 and MCM 7 of the pre‐replication complex. Consistently, double mutations in BICE 1 and MCM 4, or MCM 7, also led to bicellular pollen and condensed chromosomes. These suggest that BICE 1 plays a role in modulating DNA replication via interaction with MCM 4 and MCM 7.