Fig. 1

Morphological characteristics of flowers and microscopic observations of anthers from the sterile and fertile lines of Wucai. a and b, CMS line 12-14A and its maintainer line 12-14B. c, e, g and d, f, h, Inflorescences, flowers, and petals and stamens from the sterile and fertile lines, respectively. i-l, Transverse sections of sterile anthers; abnormal tapetum was formed, and the pollen sacs of sterile anthers did not produce pollen, in the CMS line. m-p, Transverse sections of fertile anthers; normal tapetum and mature anthers developed in the maintainer line. AT, abnormal tapetum; DPG, degenerated pollen grain; E, epidermis; En, endothecium; ML, middle layer; MSp, microspore; PG, pollen grain; T, tapetum. Scale bars in a, b, c and d represent 1 cm; scale bars in e, f, g, h represent 0.5 cm; scale bars in I-P represent 100 μm