Abstract: NAC family is a class of transcription factors that have been typically found in plant with various functions. This type of genes plays a key regulatory role in secondary plant growth, cell division, senescence, especially in the hormone and signaling pathways. ANAC092 was reported to function in relation to lateral root development and senescence. The promoter and in situ hybridization analyses showed that ANAC092 was expressed temporally in the process of anther development. The gene was expressed in tapetum at stages 8–11 of anther development and reached the highest amount at stages 9–10, which was overlapped with the expression period of AMS (Aborted microspores). In this study, we constructed ANAC092 over-expression system, and identified homozygous transgenic lines. Compared with the wild type, the number of pollen grains in the transgenic line was decreased significantly, but the length of pollen grain was increased. qRT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of genes related to pollen development, e.g., SPL, EMS1, DYT1, and AMS was in-creased in the over-expression plants. Bioinformatics results showed that ANAC092 promoter sequence possessed seven AMS binding sites. All the results showed that ANAC092 is possibly located in the downstream of AMS and plays an im-portant role in the process of pollen development.

Key words: anther development, Arabidopsis, ANAC092, AMS