Dysfunction of duplicated pair rice histone acetyltransferases causes segregation distortion and an interspecific reproductive barrier.

ABSTRACT: Postzygotic reproductive isolation, which results in the irreversible divergence of species, is commonly accompanied by hybrid sterility, necrosis/weakness, or lethality in the F₁ or other offspring generations. Here we show that the loss of function of HWS1 and HWS2, a couple of duplicated paralogs, together confer complete interspecific incompatibility between Asian and African rice. Both of these non-Mendelian determinants encode the putative Esa1-associated factor 6 (EAF6) protein, which functions as a characteristic subunit of the histone H4 acetyltransferase complex regulating transcriptional activation via genome-wide histone modification. The proliferating tapetum and inappropriate polar nuclei arrangement cause defective pollen and seeds in F₂ hybrid offsprin

SUBMITTER: Liao B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10837208 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature