Abstract:The changes of lipofuscin-like pigment(LFLP)content in anthers of male-sterility rice were studied for examining the possible lipid peroxidative damage in relation to male-sterility.During the pollen development from uninucleate to trinucleate stages, LFLP contents in fertile and sterile anthers all increased gradually to different extents in the tested cytoplasmic male-sterile line rice Zhenshan 97A and its maintainer Zhenshan 97B,the photoperiod(temperature)-sensitive genie male-sterile rice W6154s and Peiai 64s.The LFLP content and accumulative rate in both types of male-sterile rice were higher than those in fertile anthers.In trinucleate stage,the sterile anthers from Zhenshan 97A and W6154s showed 24% higher LFLP content than their fertile anthers.From uninucleate to trinucleate stages of pollen, the average accumulative rates of LFLP in sterile and fertile anthers were 41% and 26% perstage, respectively.When the isolated fresh anthers at uninucleate and trinucleate stages were treated by using N2 and antioxidants glutathione(reduced)and butylated hydroxytoluene,the LFLP content was partially reduced by glutathion treatment at uninucleate stage.The results indicated that the expression of male-sterility of rice was associated with the accumulation of a fluorescent product of lipid peroxidation,lipofuscin-like pigments.