Production of male sterile transgenic plants

Abstract

Ethylene controls many physiological and developmental processes in plants, including fruit and flower development, reproductive physiology, and responses to environmental stimuli. Ethylene exerts its effects through the ethylene receptor of plants. Ethylene receptor genes have been isolated in a variety of plant species, and in early studies, these genes were used to genetically engineer fruit ripening in tomato and flower senescence in petunia and carnation. Recently, we demonstrated that the over-expression of mutated melon ethylene receptor genes affected pollen development and induced a male sterile phenotype in transgenic plants. One major concern regarding genetically modified plants is the transgene flow through pollen dispersal, which may pose a potential impact to the environment, especially on genetic diversity. Therefore, the inducible male sterility system using mutated ethylene receptor genes could be a possible strategy for preventing pollen dispersal from these plants, thereby reducing the potential impact associated with transgenic plants. This review summarizes the studies on the inducible male sterility system that uses ethylene receptor genes.