Characterizing jasmonate regulation of male fertility in Arabidopsis

Coordination of events leading to fertilization of Arabidopsis flowers is tightly regulated, with an essential developmental cue from jasmonates (JAs). JAs coordinate stamen filament elongation, anther dehiscence, and pollen viability at stage 12 of flower development, the stage immediately prior to flower opening. Characterization of JA-biosynthesis and JA-response mutants of Arabidopsis, which usually have a complete male sterility phenotype, has contributed to the understanding of how JAs work in these reproductive processes. These mutants have also been fundamental to the identification of JA-dependent genes acting in male reproductive tissues that accomplish fertilization. The list of JA-dependent genes continues to grow, as does the necessity to characterize novel JA mutant and related transgenic plants. It is therefore instructive to place these genes and mutants in the framework of established JA responses. Here, we describe the phenotypic characterization of flowers that fail to respond to the JA signal. We also measure gene expression in male reproductive tissues of flowers with the aim of identifying their role in JA-dependent male fertility.