Anther development and male fertility are essential biological pro- cesses for flowering plants and are important for crop seed produc- tion. Genetic manipulation of male fertility/sterility is critical for crop hybrid breeding. Rice （Oryza sativa L.） male sterility phenotypes, including genic male sterility, hybrid male sterility, and cytoplasmic male sterility, are generally caused by mutations of fertility-related genes, by incompatible interactions between divergent allelic or non-allelic genes, or by genetic incompatibilities between cytoplas-mic and nuclear genomes. Here, we review the recent advances in the molecular basis of anther development and male fertility-sterility conversion in specific genetic backgrounds, and the interactions with certain environmental factors. The highlighted findings in this review have significant implications in both basic studies and rice genetic improvement.
Dear Editor, Male reproductive development is an essential biological process for flowering plants and crucial for crop seed produc- tion. Formation of the male reproductive organ, the anther, involves a number of developmental events, including sta- men meristem specification, generation of sporogenous cells and their differentiation into microspore mother cells （MMCs）, meiosis, microspore （pollen） maturation, and polli- nation （Ma, 2005）. The formation of microspores and their development into mature pollen grains require cooperative interactions between gametophytic （microspores） and sporo- phytic （anther wall） cells, with the innermost cell layer, the tapetum, playing the most crucial role （Ma, 2005）. Tapetal cells underao decleneration bv Droclrammed cell death （PCD）.
Chonghui Ji Heying Li Libin Chen Min Xie Fengping Wang Yuanling Chen Yao-Guang Liu
