Single-cell RNA sequencing of meiocytes and microspores reveals the involvement of the Rf4 gene in redox homeostasis of CMS-C maize
Huaisheng Zhang,
Huili Yang,
Desheng Hu,
Bing Li,
Yanan Lin,
Wen Yao,
Zhanyong Guo,
Haochuan Li,
Dong Ding,
Zhanhui Zhang,
Yanmin Hu,
Yadong Xue,
Jihua Tang
Affiliations
Huaisheng Zhang
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Huili Yang
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Desheng Hu
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Bing Li
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Yanan Lin
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Wen Yao
College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Zhanyong Guo
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Haochuan Li
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Dong Ding
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Zhanhui Zhang
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Yanmin Hu
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
Yadong Xue
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China; Corresponding authors.
Jihua Tang
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China; Corresponding authors.
Normal microsporogenesis is determined by both nuclear and mitochondrial genes. In maize C-type cytoplasmic male sterility, it is unclear how the development of meiocytes and microspores is affected by the mitochondrial sterility gene and the nuclear restorer gene. In this study, we sequenced the transcriptomes of single meiocytes (tetrad stage) and early mononucleate microspores from sterile and restorer lines. The numbers of expressed genes varied in individual cells and fewer than half of the expressed genes were common to the same cell types. Four comparisons revealed 3379 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with 277 putatively associated with mitochondria, 226 encoding transcription factors, and 467 possibly targeted by RF4. KEGG analysis indicated that the DEGs in the two lines at the tetrad stage were involved predominantly in carbon metabolism and in amino acid biosynthesis and metabolism, whereas the DEGs during the transition from the tetrad stage to the early mononucleate stage were associated mostly with regulation of protein metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and anatomical structure morphogenesis. Thus, meiocyte and microspore development was affected by the surrounding cells and the restorer gene, and the restorer gene helped restore the redox homeostasis of microspores and the normal cellular reconstruction during the transition.
