Transcriptome analysis of male sterile maize mutants defective in somatic cell layer identities (tcl1, mtm00-06 and ms*6015) compared with fertile siblings

In order to better understand defects at the molecular level in male sterile maize mutants, we characterized 3 different mutants by microarray hybridization. Anthers were dissected and staged to be 1000 μm in length (+/- 100 μm), allowing us to analyze changes in transcriptome between siblings relatively close to the initial observation of morphological defects. All three of the mutants had morphological defects in the somatic layers of the anther, but only tcl1 and mtm00-06 male steriles show serial extra periclinal divisions compared to relatively minor defects in ms*6015 male steriles. For each mutant four biological replicates were used for both male sterile samples and fertile siblings with direct comparisons made between fertile and sterile siblings of the same mutant background.