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Molecular and genetic characterization of novel S-RNases from a natural population of Nicotiana alata

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Abstract

Self-incompatibility in the Solanaceae is mediated by S-RNase alleles expressed in the style, which confer specificity for pollen recognition. Nicotiana alata has been successfully used as an experimental model to elucidate cellular and molecular aspects of S-RNase-based self-incompatibility in Solanaceae. However, S-RNase alleles of this species have not been surveyed from natural populations and consequently the S-haplotype diversity is poorly known. Here the molecular and functional characterization of seven S-RNase candidate sequences, identified from a natural population of N. alata, are reported. Six of these candidates, S 5 , S 27 , S 70 , S 75 , S 107 , and S 210 , showed plant-specific amplification in the natural population and style-specific expression, which increased gradually during bud maturation, consistent with the reported S-RNase expression. In contrast, the S 63 ribonuclease was present in all plants examined and was ubiquitously expressed in different organs and bud developmental stages. Genetic segregation analysis demonstrated that S 27 , S 70 , S 75 , S 107 , and S 210 alleles were fully functional novel S-RNases, while S 5 and S 63 resulted to be non-S-RNases, although with a clearly distinct pattern of expression. These results reveal the importance of performing functional analysis in studies of S-RNase allelic diversity. Comparative phylogenetic analysis of six species of Solanaceae showed that N. alata S-RNases were included in eight transgeneric S-lineages. Phylogenetic pattern obtained from the inclusion of the novel S-RNase alleles confirms that N. alata represents a broad sample of the allelic variation at the S-locus of the Solanaceae.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Bruce McClure, Dr Jorge Muschietti, and Dr Carlos Argaraña for critical reading of the manuscript; Dr Andrew Jackson for advice and discussion regarding phylogenetic issues, and Dr María E Alvarez for helpful discussions. We thank Gabriela Díaz Cortez for editorial assistance. This work was funded by grants of Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (PICT 05/32933) and SECyT-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba to Ariel Goldraij.

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  1. Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Centro de Investigaciones en Química Biológica de Córdoba (CIQUIBIC, UNC–CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Haya de la Torre y Medina Allende, Ciudad Universitaria, X5000HUA, Córdoba, Argentina

    Juan A. Roldán, Rodrigo Quiroga & Ariel Goldraij

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  1. Juan A. Roldán
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  2. Rodrigo Quiroga
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  3. Ariel Goldraij
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Correspondence to Ariel Goldraij.

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Communicated by R. Schmidt.

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Roldán, J.A., Quiroga, R. & Goldraij, A. Molecular and genetic characterization of novel S-RNases from a natural population of Nicotiana alata . Plant Cell Rep 29, 735–746 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-010-0860-6

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