Premium
High intraspecific diversity of Restorer‐of‐fertility‐like genes in barley
Author(s) -
Melonek Joanna,
Zhou Ruonan,
Bayer Philipp E.,
Edwards David,
Stein Nils,
Small Ian
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1111/tpj.14115
Subject(s) - biology , genetics , gene , genome , cytoplasmic male sterility , evolutionary biology
SUMMARY Nuclear restorer of fertility ( Rf ) genes suppress the effects of mitochondrial genes causing cytoplasmic male sterility ( CMS ), a condition in which plants fail to produce viable pollen. Rf genes, many of which encode RNA ‐binding pentatricopeptide repeat ( PPR ) proteins, are applied in hybrid breeding to overcome CMS used to block self‐pollination of the seed parent. Here, we characterise the repertoire of restorer‐of‐fertility‐like ( RFL ) PPR genes in barley ( Hordeum vulgare ). We found 26 RFL genes in the reference genome (‘Morex’) and an additional 51 putative orthogroups ( POG s) in a re‐sequencing data set from 262 barley genotypes and landraces. Whereas the sequences of some POG s are highly conserved across hundreds of barley accessions, the sequences of others are much more variable. High sequence variation strongly correlates with genomic location – the most variable genes are found in a cluster on chromosome 1H. A much higher likelihood of diversifying selection was found for genes within this cluster than for genes present as singlets. This work includes a comprehensive analysis of the patterns of intraspecific variation of RFL genes. The RFL sequences characterised in this study will be useful for the development of new markers for fertility restoration loci.