Lipid anchoring and electrostatic interactions target NOT-LIKE-DAD to pollen endo-plasma membrane

Haploid rhapsody: the molecular and cellular orchestra of in vivo haploid induction in plants

In planta haploid induction (HI), which reduces the chromosome number in the progeny after fertilization, has garnered increasing attention for its significant potential in crop breeding and genetic research. Despite the identification of several natural and synthetic HI systems in different plant species, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these HI systems remain largely unknown. This review synthesizes the current understanding of HI systems in plants (with a focus on genes and molecular mechanisms involved), including the molecular and cellular interactions which orchestrate the HI process. As most HI systems can function across taxonomic boundaries, we particularly discuss the evidence for conserved mechanisms underlying the process. These include mechanisms involved in preserving chromosomal integrity, centromere function, gamete communication and/or fusion, and maintenance of karyogamy. While significant discoveries and advances on haploid inducer systems have arisen over the past decades, we underscore gaps in understanding and deliberate on directions for further research for a more comprehensive understanding of in vivo HI processes in plants.

Redundant function of the Arabidopsis phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase genes PIP5K4-6 is essential for pollen germination

Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase (PIP5K) is a key enzyme producing the signaling lipid phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2 ] in eukaryotes. Although PIP5K genes are reported to be involved in pollen tube germination and growth, the essential roles of PIP5K in these processes remain unclear. Here, we performed a comprehensive genetic analysis of the Arabidopsis thaliana PIP5K4, PIP5K5, and PIP5K6 genes and revealed that their redundant function is essential for pollen germination. Pollen with the pip5k4pip5k5pip5k6 triple mutation was sterile, while pollen germination efficiency and pollen tube growth were reduced in the pip5k6 single mutant and further reduced in the pip5k4pip5k6 and pip5k5pip5k6 double mutants. YFP-fusion proteins, PIP5K4-YFP, PIP5K5-YFP, and PIP5K6-YFP, which could rescue the sterility of the triple mutant pollen, preferentially localized to the tricolpate aperture area and the future germination site on the plasma membrane prior to germination. Triple mutant pollen grains under the germination condition, in which spatiotemporal localization of the PtdIns(4,5)P2 fluorescent marker protein 2xmCHERRY-2xPHPLC as seen in the wild type was abolished, exhibited swelling and rupture of the pollen wall, but neither the conspicuous protruding site nor site-specific deposition of cell wall materials for germination. These data indicate that PIP5K4-6 and their product PtdIns(4,5)P2 are essential for pollen germination, possibly through the establishment of the germination polarity in a pollen grain.

Genetic basis of maize maternal haploid induction beyond MATRILINEAL and ZmDMP

In maize, doubled haploid (DH) lines are created in vivo through crosses with maternal haploid inducers. Their induction ability, usually expressed as haploid induction rate (HIR), is known to be under polygenic control. Although two major genes (MTL and ZmDMP) affecting this trait were recently described, many others remain unknown. To identify them, we designed and performed a SNP based (~9007) genome-wide association study using a large and diverse panel of 159 maternal haploid inducers. Our analyses identified a major gene near MTL, which is present in all inducers and necessary to disrupt haploid induction. We also found a significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) on chromosome 10 using a case-control mapping approach, in which 793 noninducers were used as controls. This QTL harbors a kokopelli ortholog, whose role in maternal haploid induction was recently described in Arabidopsis. QTL with smaller effects were identified on six of the ten maize chromosomes, confirming the polygenic nature of this trait. These QTL could be incorporated into inducer breeding programs through marker-assisted selection approaches. Further improving HIR is important to reduce the cost of DH line production.

Loss-of-function of gynoecium-expressed phospholipase pPLAIIγ triggers maternal haploid induction in Arabidopsis

Production of in planta haploid embryos that inherit chromosomes from only one parent can greatly increase breeding efficiency via quickly generating homozygous plants, called doubled haploid. One of the main players of in planta haploid induction is a pollen-specific phospholipase A, which is able, when mutated, to induce in vivo haploid induction in numerous monocots. However, no functional orthologous gene has been identified in dicots plants. Here, we show that loss-of-function of gynoecium-expressed phospholipase AII (pPLAIIγ) triggers maternal haploid plants in Arabidopsis, at an average rate of 1.07%. Reciprocal crosses demonstrate that haploid plants are triggered from the female side and not from the pollen, and the haploid plants carry the maternal genome. Promoter activity of pPLAIIγ shows enriched expression in the funiculus of flower development stages 13 and 18, and pPLAIIγ fused to yellow fluorescent protein reveals a plasma-membrane localization Interestingly, the polar localized PIN1 at the basal plasma membrane of the funiculus was all internalized in pplaIIγ mutants, suggesting that altered PIN1 localization in female organ could play a role in maternal haploid induction.

A female in vivo haploid-induction system via mutagenesis of egg cell-specific peptidases

Crop breeding schemes can be significantly accelerated by using (doubled) haploid plants. In vivo haploid induction has been applied in plant breeding for decades but is still not available for all crops and genotypes, and haploidization rates are generally very low. Therefore, methodological improvements to and new concepts for haploidization are required. Here, we report a novel system for the induction of haploid plants by mutating genes encoding egg cell-specific aspartic endopeptidases (ECSs). We show that after successful sperm-egg cell fusion, ECSs play a critical role to ensure male and female nucleus fusion after fertilization. The ecs1 ecs2 double mutant can induce haploids by both selfing and hybridization in Arabidopsis and ECS mutation is also capable of producing haploids in rice. In summary, our study develops a novel approach for maternal haploidization and provides new insights into the molecular basis of fertilization.

Removal of the endoplasma membrane upon sperm cell activation after pollen tube discharge

In pollen and pollen tubes, immotile sperm cells are enclosed by an inner vegetative plasma membrane (IVPM), a single endomembrane originating from the vegetative-cell plasma membrane. It is widely believed that sperm cells must be removed from the IVPM prior to gamete associations and fusions; however, details of the timing and morphological changes upon IVPM dissociation remain elusive. Here, we report a rapid IVPM breakdown immediately before double fertilization in Arabidopsis thaliana. The IVPM was stably observed in coiling pollen tubes when pollen tube discharge was prevented using lorelei mutant ovules. In contrast, a semi-in vivo fertilization assay in wild-type ovules demonstrated fragmented IVPM around sperm nuclei 1 min after pollen tube discharge. These observations revealed the dynamic alteration of released sperm cells and provided new insights into double fertilization in flowering plants. With a summary of recent findings on IVPM lipid composition, we discussed the possible physiological signals controlling IVPM breakdown.

The Roads to Haploid Embryogenesis

Although zygotic embryogenesis is usually studied in the field of seed biology, great attention has been paid to the methods used to generate haploid embryos due to their applications in crop breeding. These mainly include two methods for haploid embryogenesis: in vitro microspore embryogenesis and in vivo haploid embryogenesis. Although microspore culture systems and maize haploid induction systems were discovered in the 1960s, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying haploid formation. In recent years, major breakthroughs have been made in in vivo haploid induction systems, and several key factors, such as the matrilineal (MTL), baby boom (BBM), domain of unknown function 679 membrane protein (DMP), and egg cell-specific (ECS) that trigger in vivo haploid embryo production in both the crops and Arabidopsis models have been identified. The discovery of these haploid inducers indicates that haploid embryogenesis is highly related to gamete development, fertilization, and genome stability in ealry embryos. Here, based on recent efforts to identify key players in haploid embryogenesis and to understand its molecular mechanisms, we summarize the different paths to haploid embryogenesis, and we discuss the mechanisms of haploid generation and its potential applications in crop breeding. Although these haploid-inducing factors could assist egg cells in bypassing fertilization to initiate embryogenesis or trigger genome elimination in zygotes after fertilization to form haploid embryos, the fertilization of central cells to form endosperms is a prerequisite step for haploid formation. Deciphering the molecular and cellular mechanisms for haploid embryogenesis, increasing the haploid induction efficiency, and establishing haploid induction systems in other crops are critical for promoting the application of haploid technology in crop breeding, and these should be addressed in further studies.

Evaluation of genome and base editing tools in maize protoplasts

INTRODUCTION

Despite its rapid worldwide adoption as an efficient mutagenesis tool, plant genome editing remains a labor-intensive process requiring often several months of in vitro culture to obtain mutant plantlets. To avoid a waste in time and money and to test, in only a few days, the efficiency of molecular constructs or novel Cas9 variants (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9) prior to stable transformation, rapid analysis tools are helpful.

METHODS

To this end, a streamlined maize protoplast system for transient expression of CRISPR/Cas9 tools coupled to NGS (next generation sequencing) analysis and a novel bioinformatics pipeline was established.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Mutation types found with high frequency in maize leaf protoplasts had a trend to be the ones observed after stable transformation of immature maize embryos. The protoplast system also allowed to conclude that modifications of the sgRNA (single guide RNA) scaffold leave little room for improvement, that relaxed PAM (protospacer adjacent motif) sites increase the choice of target sites for genome editing, albeit with decreased frequency, and that efficient base editing in maize could be achieved for certain but not all target sites. Phenotypic analysis of base edited mutant maize plants demonstrated that the introduction of a stop codon but not the mutation of a serine predicted to be phosphorylated in the bHLH (basic helix loop helix) transcription factor ZmICEa (INDUCER OF CBF EXPRESSIONa) caused abnormal stomata, pale leaves and eventual plant death two months after sowing.

Highly reactive chemicals meet haploidization

Mutation of the sperm-specific phospholipase A and treatment of pollen with reactive oxygen species (ROS) reagents lead to the induction of maize haploids. ZmPOD65, a gene associated with sperm-specific ROS metabolism, also exhibits a haploidization effect.

Engineering Apomixis: Clonal Seeds Approaching the Fields

Apomixis is a form of reproduction leading to clonal seeds and offspring that are genetically identical to the maternal plant. While apomixis naturally occurs in hundreds of plant species distributed across diverse plant families, it is absent in major crop species. Apomixis has a revolutionary potential in plant breeding, as it could allow the instant fixation and propagation though seeds of any plant genotype, most notably F₁ hybrids. Mastering and implementing apomixis would reduce the cost of hybrid seed production, facilitate new types of hybrid breeding, and make it possible to harness hybrid vigor in crops that are not presently cultivated as hybrids. Synthetic apomixis can be engineered by combining modifications of meiosis and fertilization. Here, we review the current knowledge and recent major achievements toward the development of efficient apomictic systems usable in agriculture.

Loss-of-function alleles of ZmPLD3 cause haploid induction in maize

Doubled haploid technology has been widely applied to multiple plant species and is recognized as one of the most important technologies for improving crop breeding efficiency. Although mutations in MATRILINEAL/Zea mays PHOSPHOLIPASE A1/NOT LIKE DAD (MTL/ZmPLA1/NLD) and Zea mays DOMAIN OF UNKNOWN FUNCTION 679 MEMBRANE PROTEIN (ZmDMP) have been shown to generate haploids in maize, knowledge of the genetic basis of haploid induction (HI) remains incomplete. Therefore, cloning of new genes underlying HI is important for further elucidating its genetic architecture. Here, we found that loss-of-function mutations of Zea mays PHOSPHOLIPASE D3 (ZmPLD3), one of the members from the phospholipase D subfamily, could trigger maternal HI in maize. ZmPLD3 was identified through a reverse genetic strategy based on analysis of pollen-specifically expressed phospholipases, followed by validation through the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR-Cas9) system. Mutations of ZmPLD3 resulted in a haploid induction rate (HIR) similar to that of mtl/zmpla1/nld and showed synergistic effects rather than functional redundancy on tripling the HIR (from 1.19% to 4.13%) in the presence of mtl/zmpla1/nld. RNA-seq profiling of mature pollen indicated that a large number of pollen-specific differentially expressed genes were enriched in processes related to gametogenesis development, such as pollen tube development and cell communication, during the double-fertilization process. In addition, ZmPLD3 is highly conserved among cereals, highlighting the potential application of these in vivo haploid-inducer lines for other important crop plant species. Collectively, our discovery identifies a novel gene underlying in vivo maternal HI and provides possibility of breeding haploid inducers with further improved HIR.

LARP6 proteins in plants

RNA binding proteins, through control of mRNA fate and expression, are key players of organism development. The LARP family of RBPs sharing the La motif, are largely present in eukaryotes. They classify into five subfamilies which members acquired specific additional domains, including the RRM1 moiety which teams up with the La motif to form a versatile RNA binding unit. The LARP6 subfamily has had a peculiar history during plant evolution. While containing a single LARP6 in algae and non-vascular plants, they expanded and neofunctionalized into three subclusters in vascular plants. Studies from Arabidopsis thaliana, support that they acquired specific RNA binding properties and physiological roles. In particular LARP6C participates, through spatiotemporal control of translation, to male fertilization, a role seemingly conserved in maize. Interestingly, human LARP6 also acts in translation control and mRNA transport and similarly to LARP6C which is required for pollen tube guided elongation, is necessary to cell migration, through protrusion extension. This opens the possibility that some cellular and molecular functions of LARP6 were retained across eukaryote evolution. With their peculiar evolutionary history, plants provide a unique opportunity to uncover how La-module RNA binding properties evolved and identify species specific and basal roles of the LARP6 function. Deciphering of how LARP6, in particular LARP6C, acts at the molecular level, will foster novel knowledge on translation regulation and dynamics in changing cellular contexts. Considering the seemingly conserved function of LARP6C in male reproduction, it should fuel studies aimed at deriving crop species with improved seed yields.