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The genetic location of the self-incompatibility locus in white clover (Trifolium repens L.)

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Abstract

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is a forage legume of considerable economic importance in temperate agricultural systems. It has a strong self-incompatibility system. The molecular basis of self-incompatibility in T. repens is unknown, but it is under the control of a single locus, which is expressed gametophytically. To locate the self-incompatibility locus (S locus) in T. repens, we carried out cross-pollination experiments in an F1 mapping population and constructed a genetic linkage map using amplified fragment length polymorphism and simple sequence repeat markers. As the first step in a map-based cloning strategy, we locate for the first time the S locus in T. repens on a genetic linkage map, on the homoeologous linkage group pair 1 (E), which is broadly syntenic to Medicago truncatula L. chromosome 1. On the basis of this syntenic relationship, the possibility that the S locus may or may not possess an S-RNase gene is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This project is financed by the National Development Plan of Ireland through Teagasc core funding. NC is funded by a Teagasc Walsh Fellowship. We offer our sincere thanks to Matt Lowe, Gerry Douglas, Adriana Ravagnani and Terry Michaelson-Yeates for their help in this work, and to the technicians at Teagasc Oak Park and IBERS. Thanks are due to the colleagues whose comments improved this manuscript.

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  1. Melanie Febrer

    Present address: John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Teagasc Crops Research Centre, Oak Park, County Carlow, Ireland

    Nora M. Casey, Dan Milbourne, Susanne Barth & Melanie Febrer

  2. Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, Penglais, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, SY23 3DA, UK

    Nora M. Casey, Melanie Febrer, Glyn Jenkins, Michael T. Abberton, Charlotte Jones & Daniel Thorogood

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  1. Nora M. Casey
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Correspondence to Daniel Thorogood.

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Communicated by Y. Xue.

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Casey, N.M., Milbourne, D., Barth, S. et al. The genetic location of the self-incompatibility locus in white clover (Trifolium repens L.). Theor Appl Genet 121, 567–576 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-010-1330-9

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