Characterization of α-tubulin gene distinctively presented in a cytoplasmic male sterile and its maintainer line of non-heading Chinese cabbage

BACKGROUND: Microtubules are prominent components of the cytoskeleton in every eukaryotic cell. Plant microtubules are essential for a wide variety of cellular functions, including generation of cell polarity, intracellular transport, positioning of organelles, cell wall deposition and cell division. The major component of microtubules is tubulin, an alpha,beta heterodimer protein with a molecular mass of each subunit of around 50 kDa. Tubulin exists in cells as a mixture of polypeptides differing in their isoelectric points. Some post-translational modifications of tubulins are thought to modulate the functions and localization of microtubules within the cell. RESULTS: The complete sequence of a single-copy alpha-tubulin gene Tuba I, belonging to a multiple gene family of non-heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris ssp. chinensis Makino), was obtained. The gene was expressed in high levels in young leaves and stamens, and it was also highly expressed during all stages of microsporogenesis in the maintainer. However, there was a distinct difference in alpha-tubulin expression between the sterile stage and the normal stages of pollen in a cytoplasmic male sterility line and its maintainer. CONCLUSION: Tubal was significantly related to the cell division and elongation of non-heading Chinese cabbage, demonstrating that this gene played an important role in the development of pollen and may be closely related to male sterility. (C) 2008 Society of Chemical Industry