Molecular analysis of gene regulation and function during male gametophyte development

We have characterised three pollen-expressed genes (LAT52, LAT56 and LAT59) from tomato in order to determine their role in pollen development, and to determine the DNA sequences responsible for gene expression in pollen. LAT52 encodes a protein that shows amino acid sequence similarity to a protein encoded by a pollen-specific cDNA clone (pZmc13) isolated from maize, and both proteins have amino acid sequence similarity to Kunitz trypsin inhibitors of soybean and winged bean. The proteins encoded by LAT56 and LAT59 genes are 54% identical at the amino acid level, and show significant sequence similarity to bacterial pectate lyases and to a fungal pectin lyase. Additionally, regions of LAT56 and LAT59 show significant sequence similarity to tryptic peptides of ragweed and Japanese cedar pollen allergens. Preliminary results suggest that plants harboring antisense constructs of the LAT52 coding region show defects in pollen germination and fertilisation; no obvious phenotype was seen in plants harboring antisense constructs of the LAT59 coding region. Promoter fragments of these three LAT genes were fused to the reporter gene GUS and assayed using both a transient system and stably transformed plants. We have identified relatively short regions of the LAT promoters that are important for pollen expression, and are attempting to isolate trans-acting factors that interact with these cis-acting sequences, using both molecular and classical genetic approaches.