Isolation and characterization of <i>LoAMS</i> gene in anther development of lily (<i>Lilium</i> oriental hybrids)

Lily is one of the most valuable fresh cut flowers in the world. However, pollen pollution brings inconvenience to retailers and consumers. Anther development is a complicated and precise process but much is unknown. In this study, the anther development key gene <i>LoAMS</i> was isolated from <i>Lilium</i> Oriental Hybrids cultivar ‘Siberia’. Phylogenetic tree analysis and multiple sequence alignment showed that LoAMS protein had a typical basic helix–loop–helix domain (bHLH), belonging to the MYC transcription factor family. Furthermore, the subcellular localization experiment revealed that LoAMS was a nucleus protein. Transcriptional activation assays showed LoAMS was a transcriptional activator with the transcriptional activation domain in the last 204 amino acids (338-541aa) of the C-terminal region. The real-time quantitative PCR showed that <i>LoAMS</i> was abundant in lily anthers. Two peak expressions of <i>LoAMS</i> appeared in the anthers of 3-cm and 10-cm flower buds, especially in the microspores of 10-cm flower buds. These data indicate LoAMS is an anther specific transcriptional activator that may contribute to lily molecular breeding in the near future.