與動(dòng)物不同，植物的受精過程有兩對(duì)精子和卵子參與,。其中一對(duì)結(jié)合形成受精卵,，而另一對(duì)則在子房中融合形成富有營養(yǎng)的胚乳。這個(gè)雙受精過程中的一個(gè)迷團(tuán)是單個(gè)花粉粒如何產(chǎn)生一對(duì)精子以同時(shí)滿足受精和種子生產(chǎn)的需要,。最近,，英國萊斯特大學(xué)David Twell領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的一組科學(xué)家鑒定出一種在這個(gè)過程中發(fā)揮重要作用的基因，它使生殖細(xì)胞前體分裂形成兩個(gè)精子細(xì)胞,。他們的這項(xiàng)研究發(fā)表于最新一期的PloS Genetics,。
這個(gè)名為Duo1的基因有兩重作用：促進(jìn)精子前體細(xì)胞分裂，同時(shí)還促使它們產(chǎn)生精子細(xì)胞,。Twell強(qiáng)調(diào)說,，這些發(fā)現(xiàn)“將有助于理解開花植物中配子發(fā)育的機(jī)制及演變，或許對(duì)控制作物間的基因流動(dòng)及雜交行為有所幫助,。”（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
PLoS Genet 5(3): e1000430. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000430
A Plant Germline-Specific Integrator of Sperm Specification and Cell Cycle Progression
Lynette Brownfield1, Said Hafidh1, Michael Borg1, Anna Sidorova1, Toshiyuki Mori2, David Twell1*
1 Department of Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom, 2 Miyagishima Initiative Research Unit, Advance Science Institute, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama, Japan
The unique double fertilisation mechanism in flowering plants depends upon a pair of functional sperm cells. During male gametogenesis, each haploid microspore undergoes an asymmetric division to produce a large, non-germline vegetative cell and a single germ cell that divides once to produce the sperm cell pair. Despite the importance of sperm cells in plant reproduction, relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms controlling germ cell proliferation and specification. Here, we investigate the role of the Arabidopsis male germline-specific Myb protein DUO POLLEN1, DUO1, as a positive regulator of male germline development. We show that DUO1 is required for correct male germ cell differentiation including the expression of key genes required for fertilisation. DUO1 is also necessary for male germ cell division, and we show that DUO1 is required for the germline expression of the G2/M regulator AtCycB1;1 and that AtCycB1:1 can partially rescue defective germ cell division in duo1. We further show that the male germline-restricted expression of DUO1 depends upon positive promoter elements and not upon a proposed repressor binding site. Thus, DUO1 is a key regulator in the production of functional sperm cells in flowering plants that has a novel integrative role linking gametic cell specification and cell cycle progression.
