OsSRF8 interacts with OsINP1 and OsDAF1 to regulate pollen aperture formation in rice.

In higher plants, mature male gametophytes have distinct apertures. After pollination, pollen grains germinate, and a pollen tube grows from the aperture to deliver sperm cells to the embryo sac, completing fertilization. In rice, the pollen aperture has a single-pore structure with a collar-like annulus and a plug-like operculum.

A toxin-antidote system contributes to interspecific reproductive isolation in rice.

Breakdown of reproductive isolation facilitates flow of useful trait genes into crop plants from their wild relatives. Hybrid sterility, a major form of reproductive isolation exists between cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) and wild rice (O. meridionalis, Mer).

OsPHS1 is required for both male and female gamete development in rice.

Meiosis plays an essential role in the production of male and female gametes. Extensive studies have elucidated that homologous chromosome association and pairing are essential for crossing-over and recombination of chromosomal segments. However, the molecular mechanism of chromosome recognition and pairing remains elusive.

/ Complex Participates in Rice Male and Female Development.

Meiosis plays an essential role in the production of gametes and genetic diversity of posterities. The normal double-strand break (DSB) repair is vital to homologous recombination (HR) and occurrence of DNA fragment exchange, but the underlying molecular mechanism remain elusive. Here, we characterized a completely sterile (male and female sterility 1) mutant which has its pollen and embryo sacs both aborted at the reproductive stage due to severe chromosome defection.

Small Grain and Dwarf 2, encoding an HD-Zip II family transcription factor, regulates plant development by modulating gibberellin biosynthesis in rice.

Homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-Zip) proteins are transcription factors that regulate plant development. Bioactive gibberellin (GA) is a key endogenous hormone that participates in plant growth. However, the relationship between HD-Zip genes and modulation of GA biosynthesis in rice remains elusive.

() Encodes an ATP-Citrate Lyase Required for Tapetum Programmed Cell Death.

In flowering plants, the tapetum cells in anthers undergo programmed cell death (PCD) at the late meiotic stage, providing nutrients for further development of microspores, including the formation of the pollen wall. However, the molecular basis of tapetum PCD remains elusive. Here we report a tapetum PCD-related mutant in rice (), (), that shows complete pollen abortion associated with earlier-than-programmed tapetum cell death.

A GARP transcription factor anther dehiscence defected 1 (OsADD1) regulates rice anther dehiscence.

Anther dehiscence, one of the essential steps in pollination and double fertilization, is regulated by a complex signaling pathway encompassing hormones and environmental factors. However, key components underlying the signaling pathway that regulate anther dehiscence remain largely elusive. Here, we isolated a rice mutant anther dehiscence defected 1 (Osadd1) that exhibited defects in anther dehiscence and glume open.