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An Hieracium mutant, loss of apomeiosis 1 (loa1) is defective in the initiation of apomixis

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Abstract

Asexual seed formation (apomixis) in Hieracium aurantiacum occurs by mitotic embryo sac formation without prior meiosis in ovules (apomeiosis), followed by fertilization-independent embryo and endosperm development. Sexual reproduction begins first in Hieracium ovules with megaspore mother cell (MMC) formation. Apomixis initiates with the enlargement of somatic cells, termed aposporous initial (AI) cells, near sexual cells. AI cells grow towards sexually programmed cells undergoing meiosis, which degrade as the dividing nuclei of AIs obscure and displace them. Following Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of an aneuploid Hieracium aurantiacum apomict, a somaclonal mutant designated “loss of apomeiosis 1” (loa1) was recovered, which had significantly lost the ability to form apomictic seed. Maternal apomictic progeny were rare and low levels of germinable seedlings were primarily derived from meiotically derived eggs. Cytological analysis revealed defects in AI formation and function in loa1. Somatic cells enlarged some distance away from sexual cells and unlike AI cells, these expanded away from sexual cells without nuclear division. Surprisingly, many accumulated callose in the walls, a marker associated with meiotically specified cells. These defective AI (DAI) cells only had partial sexual identity as they failed to express a marker reflecting entry to meiosis that was easily detected in MMCs and they ultimately degraded. DAI cell formation did not lead to a compensatory increase in functional sexual embryo sacs, as collapse of meiotic embryo sacs was prevalent in the aneuploid somaclonal mutant. Positional cues that are important for AI cell differentiation, growth and fate may have been disrupted in the loa1 mutant and this is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Shawn Jackson for cloning the HDMC1 cDNA fragment from Hieracium. This work was supported by a grant from the New Zealand Foundation for Research Science and Technology and from CSIRO, Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Plant Industry, PO Box 350, Glen Osmond, SA, 5064, Australia

    Takashi Okada, Susan D. Johnson & Anna M. Koltunow

  2. Crop and Food Research, Private Bag 4704, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Andrew S. Catanach & Ross A. Bicknell

Authors
  1. Takashi Okada
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  2. Andrew S. Catanach
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  3. Susan D. Johnson
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  4. Ross A. Bicknell
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  5. Anna M. Koltunow
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna M. Koltunow.

Additional information

Communicated by Thomas Dresselhaus.

The authors Takashi Okada, Andrew S. Catanach and Susan D. Johnson made equal contributions to the data.

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Okada, T., Catanach, A.S., Johnson, S.D. et al. An Hieracium mutant, loss of apomeiosis 1 (loa1) is defective in the initiation of apomixis. Sex Plant Reprod 20, 199–211 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00497-007-0057-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00497-007-0057-5

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