雄性不育是一种在被子植物中广泛存在的现象，也是研究作物杂种优势利用的重要农艺性状。本项目组前期发现一个玉米花粉异常发育的雄性不育突变体，暂命名为male sterility 54 (ms54)，并通过图位克隆技术确定该基因编码一个含有LysM基序的蛋白。本项目拟通过遗传转化及转基因后代遗传分析解析Ms54的生物学功能；采用qRT-PCR和RNA原位杂交分析明确Ms54特异表达的组织区域；使用免疫沉淀、酵母双杂交和双分子荧光互补技术鉴定与Ms54互作蛋白；结合突变体和野生型转录组比较分析，明确Ms54的调控途径以期阐明Ms54生物学功能和作用网络及其调控玉米花药发育的分子机理，为玉米杂种优势利用提供种质资源和理论依据。

Male sterility is a widespread phenomenon in angiosperms, which has been successfully applied to achieve heterosis. Early research in our team found a mutant which shows male sterility with abnormal pollen, termed as male sterility 54 (ms54). Furthermore, we isolated the gene by map-base cloning, which encodes a Lysin motif (LysM)-containing protein. In the project, our objectives are: i) to construct the over-expressed and CRISPR vectors of candidate genes Ms54, and then introduce into maize C01 line. Next, we will examine the phenotype carefully to reveal the biological function. ii) to explore the localization and pattern of Ms54 expressed during the development of anthers and microspores by qRT-PCR and RNA in situ hybridization, reveal the interacting proteins by immunoprecipitation assay and validate the interaction by yeast-two hybrid system and/or the bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays. iii) to comparative analyze the differentially-expressed genes in mutant anther compared to wild-type by mRNA-seq to indicates a Ms54-involved regulatory pathway. These researched are contributed to clarify the biological function of Ms54 and molecular regulatory mechanism of maize anther development, to provide germplasm resources and theoretical basis for maize heterosis utilization.