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Sexual incompatibility in Rosaceae fruit tree species: molecular interactions and evolutionary dynamics

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Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

Fruit crops have a growing economic importance worldwide and molecular genetics might be useful in solving many problems that arise during commercial production. One of the fields that have attracted intense attention is the molecular basis of self-incompatibility that may result in low fruit set. In tree fruits of the Rosaceae family, the incompatibility reactions take place between the pistil S-ribonuclease (S-RNase) and the pollen-expressed S-haplotype specific F-box (SFB) proteins. In most cases, the loss of self-incompatibility was associated with mutations in the S-RNase or SFB genes. A total of 27 non-functional S-haplotypes have been identified and characterized, most (24) of which emerged as a consequence of natural mutations. In the Prunoideae, most haplotypes are pollen-part mutants (50 %), while 8 are stylar-part mutants (36 %), one haplotype shows both pollen- and stylar-part mutations, and molecular changes for two haplotypes still have not been clarified. In contrast, non-functional natural haplotypes in the Maloideae are all stylar-part mutants. The analysis of such mutants may shed light on underlying molecular mechanisms as was the case with the establishment of the general inhibitor model that describes interactions between pollen and pistil S-proteins. However, several other molecules were supposed to contribute to the molecular interactions, at least in Solanaceae, a family with a similar self-incompatibility system. This review also endeavours to delineate the evolutionary implications of the S-locus mutations and collect limited data on non-S-locus molecular interactions and signaling events after self- and cross-pollination of fruit tree species.

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Abbreviations

AA:

amino acid

HV:

hypervariable

PPM:

pollen-part mutant

SC:

self-compatibility

SFB:

specific F-box

SI:

self-incompatibility

SNP:

single nucleotide polymorphism

SPM:

stylar-part mutant

V:

variable

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Acknowledgements

This work was co-financed by the OTKA PD 78124, NKTH-OTKA K68921 and TÁMOP 4.2.1./B-09/01-KMR-2010-0005 grants. Attila Hegedűs and Júlia Halász are grateful for receiving a János Bolyai Scholarship, HAS. Authors express their thanks to Dr. Craig A. Ledbetter for critically revising the English of the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Corvinus University of Budapest, P.O. Box 53, Budapest, H-1518, Hungary

    A. Hegedűs, J. Lénárt & J. Halász

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  1. A. Hegedűs
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  2. J. Lénárt
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Hegedűs, A., Lénárt, J. & Halász, J. Sexual incompatibility in Rosaceae fruit tree species: molecular interactions and evolutionary dynamics. Biol Plant 56, 201–209 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-012-0077-3

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