Mitochondrial genome structural variants and candidate cytoplasmic male sterility-related gene in sugarcane

作者：Yihan Li, Shuangyu Li, Xiuting Hua, Yi Xu, Shuqi Chen, Zehuai Yu, Zhuang Gui, Yuhong Lan, Wei Yao, Baoshan Chen, Muqing Zhang, Jisen Zhang · 发表于：BMC Genomics · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12864-025-11210-y · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Sugarcane Cultivation and Processing、Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms、Plant Gene Expression Analysis

BACKGROUND: Sugarcane is a crucial crop for both sugar and bioethanol production. The nobilization breeding and utilization of wild germplasm have significantly enhanced its productivity. However, the pollen sterility in Saccharum officinarum restricts its role to being a female parent in crosses with Saccharum spontaneum during nobilization breeding, resulting in a narrow genetic basis for modern sugarcane cultivars. Mitochondria, often referred to as the intracellular "energy factories", provide energy for plant life activities, and are also implicated in cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). RESULTS: We performed mitochondrial genome assembly and structural analysis of two Saccharum founding species. We discovered that the proportions of repeat sequences are the primary factor contributing to the variations in mitochondrial genome structure and size between the two Saccharum species. Heterologous expression of the mitochondrial chimeric gene ORF113, which is highly expressed in male-sterile S. officinarum flowers, significantly inhibits growth and ATP synthesis in yeast cells, making it a key candidate CMS-related gene in sugarcane. Furthermore, we developed two co-dominant simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers based on the mitochondrial genome, which can effectively distinguish the cytoplasmic types of the two Saccharum species. CONCLUSION: In this study, we identified structural variants and developed SSR molecular markers in the mitochondrial genomes of both S. officinarum a...