Abstract
Shifts in the duration and intensity of ambient temperature impair plant development and reproduction, particularly male gametogenesis. Stress exposure causes meiotic defects or premature spore abortion in male reproductive organs, leading to male sterility. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying stress and male sterility. To elucidate these mechanisms, we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development. After completion of pollen development at optimal conditions, stress responses were assessed in mature pollen. Transient heat stress resulted in reduced starch content, decreased enzymatic activity, and reduced pollen germination, resulting in sterility. A transcriptomic comparison pointed toward misregulation of starch, lipid, and energy biosynthesis-related genes. Metabolomic studies showed an increase of Suc and its monosaccharide components, as well as a reduction in pyruvate. Lipidomic analysis showed increased levels of unsaturated fatty acids and decreased levels of saturated fatty acids. In contrast, the majority of genes involved in developmental processes such as those required for auxin and unfolded protein responses, signaling, and cell wall biosynthesis remained unaltered. It is noteworthy that changes in the regulation of transcriptional and metabolic pathway genes, as well as heat stress proteins, remained altered even though pollen could recover during further development at optimal conditions. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that a short moderate heat stress during the highly susceptible tetrad stage strongly affects basic metabolic pathways and thus generates germination-defective pollen, ultimately leading to severe yield losses in maize.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Transient heat stress reduced starch content in pollen
Zea maysNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e2“Transient heat stress resulted in reduced starch content, decreased enzymatic activity, and reduced pollen germination, resulting in sterility”
Claim · model-written summary
Transient heat stress decreased enzymatic activity in pollen
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e2“Transient heat stress resulted in reduced starch content, decreased enzymatic activity, and reduced pollen germination, resulting in sterility”
Claim · model-written summary
Transient heat stress reduced pollen germination
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e2“Transient heat stress resulted in reduced starch content, decreased enzymatic activity, and reduced pollen germination, resulting in sterility”
Claim · model-written summary
Transient heat stress resulted in male sterility
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e2“Transient heat stress resulted in reduced starch content, decreased enzymatic activity, and reduced pollen germination, resulting in sterility”
Claim · model-written summary
Metabolomic analysis showed increased Suc and its monosaccharide components in heat-stressed pollen
- Treatment
- moderate transient heat stresse1
- Outcome
- Suc and its monosaccharide componentse3
- Direction
- increasee3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e3“Metabolomic studies showed an increase of Suc and its monosaccharide components, as well as a reduction in pyruvate”
Claim · model-written summary
Metabolomic analysis showed reduced pyruvate in heat-stressed pollen
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e3“Metabolomic studies showed an increase of Suc and its monosaccharide components, as well as a reduction in pyruvate”
Claim · model-written summary
Lipidomic analysis showed increased unsaturated fatty acids in heat-stressed pollen
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e4“Lipidomic analysis showed increased levels of unsaturated fatty acids and decreased levels of saturated fatty acids”
Claim · model-written summary
Lipidomic analysis showed decreased saturated fatty acids in heat-stressed pollen
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e4“Lipidomic analysis showed increased levels of unsaturated fatty acids and decreased levels of saturated fatty acids”
Claim · model-written summary
Most genes for developmental processes such as auxin, unfolded protein response, signaling and cell wall biosynthesis remained unaltered under heat stress
- Treatment
- moderate transient heat stresse1
- Outcome
- genes involved in developmental processese5
- Direction
- remained unalterede5
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e5“the majority of genes involved in developmental processes such as those required for auxin and unfolded protein responses, signaling, and cell wall biosynthesis remained unaltered”
Claim · model-written summary
A transcriptomic comparison pointed toward misregulation of starch, lipid and energy biosynthesis-related genes under heat stress
- Treatment
- moderate transient heat stresse1
- Outcome
- starch, lipid, and energy biosynthesis-related genese6
- Direction
- misregulatione6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e6“A transcriptomic comparison pointed toward misregulation of starch, lipid, and energy biosynthesis-related genes”
Claim · model-written summary
Altered regulation of transcriptional and metabolic pathway genes and heat stress proteins persisted after pollen recovered under optimal conditions
- Treatment
- moderate transient heat stresse1
- Outcome
- regulation of transcriptional and metabolic pathway genese7
- Direction
- remained alterede7
- Qualifier
- even though pollen could recover during further development at optimal conditionse7
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“we imposed a moderate transient heat stress on maize (Zea mays) plants at the tetrad stage of pollen development”
e7“changes in the regulation of transcriptional and metabolic pathway genes, as well as heat stress proteins, remained altered even though pollen could recover during further development at optimal conditions”
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