Photoperiod and temperature-sensitive genetic male sterility (PGMS and TGMS) plants have a number of desirable characteristics for hybrid production. Two-line hybrids developed using the PGMS/TGMS system now account for a large proportion of rice production in China. In this paper, we summarize recent advances on molecular regulation mechanisms and genetics of PGMS/TGMS in rice. We suggest that temperature-sensitive splicing, an important posttranscriptional regulatory mechanism in modulating gene expression and eventually development and differentiation, is also an important molecular regulation mechanism of TGMS in rice. We review those factors involved in temperature-sensitive splicing like cis splice site, snRNA, trans premRNA splicing protein and SR proteins, and delineate that splicing could be regulated by a complex cell signaling pathway. These might shed light on other unknown molecular PGMS/TGMS mechanisms.
CHEN RongZhi PAN YuFang WANG Yang ZHU LiLi HE GuangCun
