Expression Characteristic of TaPDC-E1α Gene and Its regulatory Enzymes Gene in Male Sterile Line of Wheat

To understand the mechanism of male sterility induced by gametocide SQ-1 in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), TaPDC-E1α gene was isolated using silcon cloning technique. The open reading frame of this gene is 1401 bp in length, putatively encoding 388 amino acid residues. This gene possesses the conserved TPP domains. Two potential phosphorylation sites of serine residues might be present in the TaPDC-E1α protein of wheat. According to semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, the expression levels of TaPDC-E1α in the physiological and genetic male sterile lines were lower than those in the fertile lines. Compared with the fertile lines, the expression of PDK was obviously down-regulated in the physiological male sterile line induced by SQ-1. However, PDK gene was highly expressed in the genetic male sterile lines. The expression levels of PDP gene were similar in the fertile and the male-sterile lines. These results suggest that the pathway of energy metabolism in the SQ-1 induced sterile line is more susceptible than that of the genetic male-sterile line. The upstream signal mechanism of mediating PDK gene may be inconsistent between the male-sterile line induced by SQ-1 and the genetic male-sterile line.