Identification and Expression of TOP3α in Gerbera hybrida

Abstract

Meiotic recombination and the resulting novel allele combinations are fundamental to plant breeding and the identification of superior hybrids. However, the rate of meiotic crossovers is naturally suppressed below its potential ability, which prevents plant breeding efficiency. Nine suppressors of meiotic recombination have been identified in the model plant Arabidopsis and in other crop species. Mutations in these genes can lead to increased recombination frequency and could therefore potentially be used to create hyper-recombinant lines for ornamental breeding. In Gerbera hybrida, the anti-crossover factors remain elusive. In this study, we isolated and cloned TOP3α from flower buds of G. hybrida, and it encoded 935 amino acids with three conserved domains TOPRIM, TOP1Ac and zf-GR. Moreover, TOP3α was the highest expressed at the flower bud stage, which coincided with the occurrence of meiotic recombination, suggesting that TOP3α is associated with the regulation of meiotic recombination in G. hybrida.

Keywords

• Gerbera hybrida
• meiotic recombination
• TOP3α
• gene expression
• ornamental breeding