International Journal of Molecular Sciences Article BcMF30a and BcMF30c, Two Novel Non-Tandem CCCH Zinc-Finger Proteins, Function in Pollen Development and Pollen Germination in Brassica campestris ssp. chinensis Liai Xu 1,2 , Xingpeng Xiong 1,2, Weimiao Liu 1,2, Tingting Liu 1,2 , Youjian Yu 3 and Jiashu Cao 1,2,* 1 Laboratory of Cell & Molecular Biology, Institute of Vegetable Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;
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[email protected] (T.L.) 2 Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture/Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Hangzhou 310058, China 3 Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Food Science, Zhejiang A & F University, Lin’an 311300, China;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +86-131-8501-1958 Received: 18 July 2020; Accepted: 31 August 2020; Published: 3 September 2020 Abstract: Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris) is an economically important leaf vegetable crop worldwide. Mounting studies have shown that cysteine-cysteine-cysteine-histidine (CCCH) zinc-finger protein genes are involved in various plant growth and development processes. However, research on the involvement of these genes in male reproductive development is still in its infancy. Here, we identified 11 male fertility-related CCCH genes in Chinese cabbage. Among them, a pair of paralogs encoding novel non-tandem CCCH zinc-finger proteins, Brassica campestris Male Fertility 30a (BcMF30a) and BcMF30c, were further characterized. They were highly expressed in pollen during microgametogenesis and continued to express in germinated pollen.