Authors:

Ava Grace Barnes

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About Paper:

Natural variants of Arabidopsis thaliana harbor various genetic polymorphisms, which contribute to the phenotypic diversity observed among different ecotypes. However, little is known about how these polymorphisms impact plant sexual reproduction and fertilization success. We hypothesize that by analyzing specific variants in genes that affect reproduction, such as those that affect gamete interactions and fertilization, we can potentially uncover new molecular mechanisms underlying the establishment of reproductive barriers and hybrid incompatibility and contribute to the scientific understanding of the evolution of speciation. DMP8 and DMP9 are membrane proteins found in the surface of plant sperm cells that serve as critical mediators of gamete interactions in double fertilization. We have selected 39 natural accessions from a wide variety of geographical locations containing moderate and high-impact polymorphisms in DMP8 and DMP9 and evaluated the effects of these in protein structure and protein-protein interactions using advanced computer modeling. In addition, we evaluated if these polymorphisms represent a meaningful selection pressure to the evolution of reproductive barriers between natural accessions. The selected ecotypes will be used in test crosses with transgenic or mutant Col-0 lines that possess noticeable phenotypes to investigate the effects of specific gene variants, with emphasis on reduced seed sets and their potential to generate haploid progeny (haploid induction). Keywords: Plant Biology; Double Fertilization; Membrane Proteins; Protein Modeling; Genetic Analysis

Source:

Purdue University / 2024

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Co-authors:

Ava Grace Barnes