Partial Male Sterility in Imisun Sunflower: Imazapyr Treatment in Advanced Vegetative Stages Decreases Pollen Yield and Alters ahas Gene Expression

Imidazolinones are powerful herbicides that inhibit branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis by targeting the catalytic subunit of acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS). Imidazolinone application in the advanced vegetative or early reproductive developmental stages is associated with male sterility in resistant sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.); however, the underlying mechanism of this sterility remains unknown. This study describes the morphological, cytoembryological, and molecular alterations induced by imazapyr (IM) treatment on reproductive tissues at different developmental stages in two sunflower genotypes, resistant and intermediate resistant, respectively. Pollen and seed physiological variables were compared between the treated and control plants. The number of pollen grains per flower and viable seeds were negatively affected by IM treatment in the intermediate-resistant genotype, and the biometric traits of early developed disc flower were also significantly different in this genotype. Differential interference contrast microscopy revealed that IM treatment slightly accelerates megagamethophyte development. Anther observations at microsporogenesis using confocal microscopy show that the sporogenous tissue was damaged. Furthermore, the expression profiles of the sunflower AHAS paralogs (ahas1, ahas2, and ahas3) were measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in the anthers and pistils of two developmental stages in treated and control plants. Imazapyr treatment in early reproductive growth stages clearly induces divergent expression patterns in the ahas gene family. These findings provide new insight into a novel chemical method for inducing male sterility in sunflowers and enhance our understanding of the effects of AHAS-inhibitor herbicides in reproductive tissues.