Journal
SEXUAL PLANT REPRODUCTION
Volume 23, Issue 2, Pages 141-151Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00497-009-0119-y
Keywords
Brassica oleracea Partial-self-incompatibility; S-15 haplotype
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Self-incompatibility (SI) is thought to have played a key role in the evolution of species as it promotes their outcrossing through the recognition and rejection of self-pollen grains. In most species, SI is under the control of a complex, multiallelic S-locus. The recognition system is associated with quantitative variations of the strength of the SI reaction; the origin of these variations is still not elucidated. To define the genetic regulations involved, we studied the variability of the SI response in homozygous S (15) S (15) plants in cauliflower. These plants were obtained from a self-progeny of a self-compatible (SC) plant heterozygous for S (15) , which was generated after five selfing generations from one strongly self-incompatible initial plant. We found a continuous phenotypic variation for SI response in the offspring plants homozygous for the S (15) haplotype, from the strict SI reaction to self-compatibility, with a great proportion of the plants being partially self-compatible (PSC). Decrease in SI levels was also observed during the life of the flower. The number of pollen tubes passing through the stigma barrier was higher when counted 3 or 5 days after pollination than one day after pollination. Analysis of the expression of the two key genes regulating self-pollen recognition in cauliflower, the S-locus receptor kinase (SRK) and S-locus cysteine-rich (SCR/SP11) genes, revealed that self-compatibility or PSC was associated with decreased SRK or SCR/SP11 expression. Our work shows the particularly high level of phenotypic plasticity of the SI response associated with certain S-haplotypes in cauliflower.
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