A nuclear-encoded endonuclease governs the paternal transmission of mitochondria in Cucumis plants
Abstract Non-Mendelian transmission of mitochondria has been well established across most eukaryotes, however the genetic mechanism that governs this uniparental inheritance remains unclear. Plants in the genus Cucumis, specifically melon and cucumber, exhibit paternal transmission of the mitochondr...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59568-7 |
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| author | Jia Shen Xiaolong Lyu Xinyang Xu Zheng Wang Yuejian Zhang Chenhao Wang Eduardo D. Munaiz Mingfang Zhang Michael J. Havey Weisong Shou |
| author_facet | Jia Shen Xiaolong Lyu Xinyang Xu Zheng Wang Yuejian Zhang Chenhao Wang Eduardo D. Munaiz Mingfang Zhang Michael J. Havey Weisong Shou |
| author_sort | Jia Shen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Non-Mendelian transmission of mitochondria has been well established across most eukaryotes, however the genetic mechanism that governs this uniparental inheritance remains unclear. Plants in the genus Cucumis, specifically melon and cucumber, exhibit paternal transmission of the mitochondrial (mt) DNA, making them excellent models for exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial transmission. Here, we develop a toolkit to screen for mutants in mitochondrial inheritance (mti), and use fine mapping to successfully identify a mitochondrially targeted endonuclease gene (MTI1) controlling mitochondrial transmission. Knockout of MTI1 results in a shift from paternal to bi-parental inheritance of the mtDNA, confirming the crucial role of MTI1 in uniparental inheritance of mitochondria. Moreover, we demonstrate that MTI1 exhibits robust endonuclease activity both in vitro and in vivo, specifically expresses in mitochondria of the fertilized ovule within 24 h of pollination. Collectively, this study reveals that a nuclear-encoded but mitochondria-targeted gene plays a causative role in governing the non-Mendelian mitochondrial inheritance, revolutionizing our knowledge about mitochondrial DNA transmission. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-538bd30cd5c74972895b3cd0edac8da7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-538bd30cd5c74972895b3cd0edac8da72025-08-20T03:53:13ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-05-0116111410.1038/s41467-025-59568-7A nuclear-encoded endonuclease governs the paternal transmission of mitochondria in Cucumis plantsJia Shen0Xiaolong Lyu1Xinyang Xu2Zheng Wang3Yuejian Zhang4Chenhao Wang5Eduardo D. Munaiz6Mingfang Zhang7Michael J. Havey8Weisong Shou9Institute of Vegetables, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural SciencesKey Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Innovation and Quality Breeding in the ProvinceInstitute of Vegetables, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural SciencesInstitute of Vegetables, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural SciencesInstitute of Vegetables, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural SciencesKey Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Innovation and Quality Breeding in the ProvinceUniLaSalle, Agrosciences College, AGHYLE UP 2018.C101Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Innovation and Quality Breeding in the ProvinceDepartment of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, University of WisconsinInstitute of Vegetables, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural SciencesAbstract Non-Mendelian transmission of mitochondria has been well established across most eukaryotes, however the genetic mechanism that governs this uniparental inheritance remains unclear. Plants in the genus Cucumis, specifically melon and cucumber, exhibit paternal transmission of the mitochondrial (mt) DNA, making them excellent models for exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial transmission. Here, we develop a toolkit to screen for mutants in mitochondrial inheritance (mti), and use fine mapping to successfully identify a mitochondrially targeted endonuclease gene (MTI1) controlling mitochondrial transmission. Knockout of MTI1 results in a shift from paternal to bi-parental inheritance of the mtDNA, confirming the crucial role of MTI1 in uniparental inheritance of mitochondria. Moreover, we demonstrate that MTI1 exhibits robust endonuclease activity both in vitro and in vivo, specifically expresses in mitochondria of the fertilized ovule within 24 h of pollination. Collectively, this study reveals that a nuclear-encoded but mitochondria-targeted gene plays a causative role in governing the non-Mendelian mitochondrial inheritance, revolutionizing our knowledge about mitochondrial DNA transmission.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59568-7 |
| spellingShingle | Jia Shen Xiaolong Lyu Xinyang Xu Zheng Wang Yuejian Zhang Chenhao Wang Eduardo D. Munaiz Mingfang Zhang Michael J. Havey Weisong Shou A nuclear-encoded endonuclease governs the paternal transmission of mitochondria in Cucumis plants Nature Communications |
| title | A nuclear-encoded endonuclease governs the paternal transmission of mitochondria in Cucumis plants |
| title_full | A nuclear-encoded endonuclease governs the paternal transmission of mitochondria in Cucumis plants |
| title_fullStr | A nuclear-encoded endonuclease governs the paternal transmission of mitochondria in Cucumis plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | A nuclear-encoded endonuclease governs the paternal transmission of mitochondria in Cucumis plants |
| title_short | A nuclear-encoded endonuclease governs the paternal transmission of mitochondria in Cucumis plants |
| title_sort | nuclear encoded endonuclease governs the paternal transmission of mitochondria in cucumis plants |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59568-7 |
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