The Study of Structure and Organization of Fertility Restorer genes in Plants

Mitochondrial proteins, encoded by nuclear genes, have amino-terminal transit sequences that aid in targeting the polypeptides to the correct pathway or compartment. The structure and organization of plant fertility restorer genes were studied using different computational and biological approaches with final purpose of distinguishing different Rf products in different plants of which the Rf genes were cloned. Here it is presented the identification of highly conserved PPR domains common to fertility restorer genes in plants. Also, it was possible to identify specific PPR motifs to distinct Rf genes in different plants. By the use of this step-by-step computational approach it is possible to distinguish between Rf and non-Rf products and also, to classify different Rf genes into distinct classes. The approach and future capabilities will be discussed

Keywords:

Fertility Restorer , Structure