Anthology of anther/pollen-specific promoters and transcription factors

Abstract

Pollen, regarded as the gold dust carrying the male germ line of flowering plants, is generated in the male reproductive organ called stamen. During the last few years, molecular biology and genetics have been integrated to enhance our knowledge regarding the structural and functional aspects of anther and pollen development. The promoters of several anther-/pollen-specific genes have been characterized to help understand the development of anther that involves the expression of a large number of genes temporally as well as spatially. The cis-acting regulatory elements of promoters necessary for interaction with transcription factors and their activity have been delineated. Many transcription factor genes having distinct anther-specific expression pattern have been identified with the help of transcriptome studies in Oryza sativa as well as Arabidopsis thaliana. The nature of complex interactions between genes and regulatory hierarchy involving developmental signal cascades have been investigated to design a working model for anther development. The immediate challenge ahead is to isolate and functionally characterize missing links and terminal ends of regulatory components for enhancing our knowledge about the male gametophyte development. The information generated on this aspect would help design suitable strategies to develop traits such as male sterility in crop plants.