Mitochondrial DNA rearrangement associated with fertility restoration and cytoplasmic reversion to fertility in cytoplasmic male sterile Phaseolus vulgaris L

Abstract

Restoration of pollen fertility to cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) Phaseolus vulgaris by a nuclear restorer gene provides a system for studying nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions. Introduction of a nuclear restorer gene to this CMS line of P. vulgaris (CMS-Sprite) results in a mitochondrial genome rearrangement similar to that observed upon spontaneous cytoplasmic reversion to fertility. Three spontaneous heritable cytoplasmic revertants were derived from CMS-Sprite. Five fully fertile restored lines were also produced by using restorer line R-351 (BC(3)F(3) populations). Comparison of the mitochondrial DNA restriction patterns of CMS-Sprite, the three fertile revertants, and the five restored lines revealed loss of a 6.0-kilobase (kb) Pst I fragment in all restored and revertant lines. Southern hybridizations with a 1.3-kb BamHI clone, internal to the 6.0-kb Pst I fragment, as a probe revealed two configurations of 6.0-kb homologous sequences in the sterile cytoplasm; one of the configurations was lost upon reversion or restoration. Mitochondrial DNA rearrangement has thus been observed upon restoration by a nuclear restorer gene in this CMS system.