Whole mitochondrial genome sequencing and transcriptional analysis to uncover an RT102-type cytoplasmic male sterility-associated candidate Gene Derived from Oryza rufipogon

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a maternally inherited trait in which plants fail to produce functional pollen and is associated with the expression of a novel open reading frame (orf) gene encoded by the mitochondrial genome. An RT102A CMS line and an RT102C fertility restorer line were obtained by successive backcrossing between Oryza rufipogon W1125 and O. sativa Taichung 65. Using next-generation pyrosequencing, we determined whole-genome sequences of the mitochondria in RT102-CMS cytoplasm. To identify candidates for the CMS-associated gene in RT102 mitochondria, we screened the mitochondrial genome for the presence of specific orf genes that were chimeric or whose products carried predicted transmembrane domains. One of these orf genes, orf352, which showed different transcript sizes depending on whether the restorer of fertility (Rf) gene was present or not, was identified. The orf352 gene was co-transcribed with the ribosomal protein gene rpl5, and the 2.8 kb rpl5-orf352 transcripts were processed into 2.6 kb transcripts with a cleavage at the inside of the orf352 coding region in the presence of the Rf gene. The orf352 gene is an excellent candidate for the CMS-associated gene for RT102-CMS.