Comparative analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome sequences and anther development cytology between maintainer and Ogura-type cytoplasm male-sterile cabbage (B. oleracea Var. capitata)

BACKGROUND: Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) has been widely used for commercial F1 hybrid seeds production. CMS is primarily caused by chimeric genes in mitochondrial genomes. However, which specific stages of anther development in cabbage are affected by the chimeric genes remain unclear. RESULTS: In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genomes were sequenced and assembled for the maintainer and Ogura CMS cabbage lines. The genome size of the maintainer and Ogura CMS cabbage are 219,962 bp and 236,648 bp, respectively. There are 67 and 69 unknown function ORFs identified in the maintainer and Ogura CMS cabbage mitochondrial genomes, respectively. Four orfs, orf102a, orf122b, orf138a and orf154a were specifically identified in the Ogura CMS mitochondrial genome, which were likely generated by recombination with Ogura type radish during breeding process. Among them, ORF138a and ORF154a possessed a transmembrane structure, and orf138a was co-transcribed with the atp8 and trnfM genes. orf154a is partially homologous to the ATP synthase subunit 1 (atpA) gene. Both these genes were likely responsible for the CMS phenotype. In addition, cytological sections showed that the abnormal proliferation of tapetal cells might be the immediate cause of cytoplasmic male-sterility in Ogura CMS cabbage lines. RNA-seq results showed that orf138a and orf154a in Ogura CMS might influence transcript levels of genes in energy metabolic pathways. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of orf138a and orf154a lead to increased of ATPase activity and ATP content by affecting the transcript levels of genes in energy metabolic pathways, which could provide more energy for the abnormal proliferation of tapetal cells. Our data provides new insights into cytoplasmic male-sterility from whole mitochondrial genomes, cytology of anther development and transcriptome data. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07963-x.