Synthetic apomixis: the beginning of a new era. (February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xiong, Jie; Hu, Fengyue; Ren, Jun; Huang, Yong; Liu, Chaolei; Wang, Kejian
• Is Part Of: Current opinion in biotechnology. Volume 79(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-02
• Subjects: Biotechnology -- Periodicals; 660.6
• DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102877
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0958-1669

Abstract

Abstract : Apomixis is a process of asexual reproduction that enables plants to bypass meiosis and fertilization to generate clonal seeds that are identical to the maternal genotype. Apomixis has tremendous potential for breeding plants with desired characteristics, given its ability to fix any elite genotype. However, little is known about the origin and dynamics of natural apomictic plant systems. The introgression of apomixis-related genes from natural apomicts has achieved limited success. Therefore, synthetic apomixis, engineered to include apomeiosis, autonomous embryo formation, and autonomous endosperm development, has been proposed as a promising platform to effectuate apomixis in any crop. In this study, we have summarized recent advances in the understanding of synthetic apomixis and discussed the limitations of current synthetic apomixis systems and ways to overcome them. Highlights: The high-frequency synthetic apomixis has been achieved in hybrid rice. The hybrid vigor of descendant clonal plants could stably transmitted through generations. The more perfect gene information and circumstantial data. The discussion of conflict in current synthetic apomixis.