A single point mutation in Ms44 results in dominant male sterility and improves nitrogen use efficiency in maize.

ABSTRACT: Application of nitrogen fertilizer in the past 50 years has resulted in significant increases in crop yields. However, loss of nitrogen from crop fields has been associated with negative impacts on the environment. Developing maize hybrids with improved nitrogen use efficiency is a cost-effective strategy for increasing yield sustainably. We report that a dominant male-sterile mutant Ms44 encodes a lipid transfer protein which is expressed specifically in the tapetum. A single amino acid change from alanine to threonine at the signal peptide cleavage site of the Ms44 protein abolished protein processing and impeded the secretion of protein from tapetal cells into the locule, resulting in dominant male sterility. While the total nitrogen (N) content in plants was not changed, Ms44 male-ster

SUBMITTER: Fox T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5506649 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature