The transcriptome landscape of Arabidopsis male meiocytes from high‐throughput sequencing: the complexity and evolution of the meiotic process

Abstract

SUMMARYMeiosis is essential for eukaryotic sexual reproduction, with two consecutive rounds of nuclear divisions, allowing production of haploid gametes. Information regarding the meiotic transcriptome should provide valuable clues about global expression patterns and detailed gene activities. Here we used RNA sequencing to explore the transcriptome of a single plant cell type, the Arabidopsis male meiocyte, detecting the expression of approximately 20 000 genes. Transcription of introns of >400 genes was observed, suggesting previously unannotated exons. More than 800 genes may be preferentially expressed in meiocytes, including known meiotic genes. Of the 3378 Pfam gene families in the Arabidopsis genome, 3265 matched meiocyte-expressed genes, and 18 gene families were over-represented in male meiocytes, including transcription factor and other regulatory gene families. Expression was detected for many genes thought to encode meiosis-related proteins, including MutS homologs (MSHs), kinesins and ATPases. We identified more than 1000 orthologous gene clusters that are also expressed in meiotic cells of mouse and fission yeast, including 503 single-copy genes across the three organisms, with a greater number of gene clusters shared between Arabidopsis and mouse than either share with yeast. Interestingly, approximately 5% transposable element genes were apparently transcribed in male meiocytes, with a positive correlation to the transcription of neighboring genes. In summary, our RNA-Seq transcriptome data provide an overview of gene expression in male meiocytes and invaluable information for future functional studies.

Arabidopsis Cell Division Cycle 20.1 Is Required for Normal Meiotic Spindle Assembly and Chromosome Segregation

“…This idea is supported by the observations that simultaneous silencing of both genes results in a dwarf phenotype but that mutations in either gene alone do not cause developmental abnormalities (Kevei et al, 2011). In addition, CDC20.1 is expressed at high levels in male meiocytes (Yang et al, 2011), but CDC20.2 expression is nearly undetectable, suggesting that CDC20.1 might have a more prominent role than CDC20.2 in meiosis.…”

Formation of interference-sensitive meiotic cross-overs requires sufficient DNA leading-strand elongation

“…Studies in yeast, flies, and humans showed that the POL2 N terminus is important for elongation and fidelity of DNA replication (19,21), whereas the C-terminal region is essential for cell viability. Arabidopsis has two POL2 homologs (POL2A and POL2B), and POL2A was expressed in male meiocytes, whereas POL2B was almost undetectable (22), suggesting a potential function of POL2A in meiosis. To test this hypothesis, we obtained three pol2a mutants (SI Appendix, Fig.…”

Floral Transcriptomes in Woodland Strawberry Uncover Developing Receptacle and Anther Gene Networks

“…Transcriptomic studies have been conducted in pollen, sperm, and anthers in diverse plant species, including Arabidopsis, rice, B. rapa, maize, and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum; Honys and Twell, 2004;Ma et al, 2007Ma et al, , 2008Ma et al, , 2012Chen et al, 2010;Fujita et al, 2010;Deveshwar et al, 2011;Yang et al, 2011;Dong et al, 2013;Wuest et al, 2013). While some studies were focused on tapetum and male gametophytes, others compared anthers of male sterile mutants with anthers of the wild type.…”