Abstract
To isolate genes specifically expressed at the initiation of plant embryo development we have applied a sensitive subtractive hybridization technique for three isogenic wheat lines of the so-called ‘Salmon system’ with either zygotic or autonomous embryo development. Here we present a gene sequence showing a high homology to grass pollen allergens of type II/III thought to be expressed in pollen tissue only. Surprisingly, the pollen allergen-like sequence, designated Tri a III, is also expressed in gynoecia of the sexual, male fertile wheat line ‘(aestivum)-Salmon’, whereas the two parthenogenetic and male sterile wheat lines ‘(caudata)-Salmon’ and ‘(kotschyi)-Salmon’ completely lack any Tri a III transcript. Our data suggest a positive correlation between the expression of this clone and the manifestation of male fertility. Northern and in situ hybridization analysis revealed that, in addition to its presence in pollen, Tri a III is expressed in the parenchymatous tissue of ‘(aestivum)-Salmon’ ovaries exclusively at the day of anthesis. This precise temporal and spatial expression pattern suggests a more general function of the pollen allergen-like sequence Tri a III not limited to the exhibition of allergens in pollen grains.
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Balzer, HJ., Borisiuk, L., Meyer, HM. et al. A pollen allergen-encoding gene is expressed in wheat ovaries. Plant Mol Biol 32, 435–445 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00019095
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00019095