A new link between stress response and nucleolar function during pollen development in Arabidopsis mediated by AtREN1 protein.

Heat shock transcription factors (Hsfs) are involved in multiple aspects of stress response and plant growth. However, their role during male gametophyte development is largely unknown, although the generative phase is the most sensitive and critical period in the plant life cycle. Based on a wide screen of T-DNA mutant lines, we identified the atren1 mutation (restricted to nucleolus1) in early male gametophytic gene At1g77570, which has the closest homology to HSFA5 gene, the member of a heat shock transcription factor (HSF) gene family.