KNUCKLES promotes meiotic cell-cycle progression by directly repressing the expression of KRP1 and KRP3 to ensure male fertility.

ABSTRACT: Meiosis produces haploid gametes that are essential for sexual reproduction in most eukaryotes, but the specific cell-cycle regulation that controls meiotic progression in plants remains to be fully characterized. KNUCKLES (KNU), a known transcriptional repressor in floral meristem regulation, also regulates anther development. Loss of KNU function leads to male sterility in Arabidopsis, but its detailed regulatory mechanism is unknown. Here, we find that KNU is specifically localized in meiocytes during anther development, and mutation of KNU disrupts meiotic progression and behavior, leading to apoptosis of microsporocytes. Transcriptome analysis shows that numerous genes related to meiosis are downregulated in knu-2 meiocytes. We demonstrate that KNU can directly repress the expression

SUBMITTER: Chang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12903384 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature