Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jun;35(2):127-140.
doi: 10.1007/s00497-021-00435-y. Epub 2022 Jan 15.

A semi in vivo pollination technique to assess the level of gametophytic self-incompatibility and pollen tube growth in pear (Pyrus communis L.)

Hanne Claessen  1 , Bram Van de Poel  2 , Wannes Keulemans  1 , Nico De Storme  3
Affiliations

A semi in vivo pollination technique to assess the level of gametophytic self-incompatibility and pollen tube growth in pear (Pyrus communis L.)

Hanne Claessen et al. Plant Reprod. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

We describe a semi in vivo pollination technique to determine the compatibility relation between different pear cultivars. This assay provides a valuable addition to existing tools in GSI research. The gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI) system in Pyrus inhibits fertilization by pollen that shares one of the two S-alleles of the style. Depending on their S-locus genotype, two pear cultivars therefore either show a cross-compatible, semi-compatible or incompatible interaction. Because GSI greatly influences seed and fruit set, accurate knowledge of the compatibility type of a cultivar is key for both pear fruit production and breeding. Currently, compatibility relations between different pear cultivars are generally assessed via S-genotyping. However, this approach is restricted to the currently known S-alleles in pear, and does not provide functional assessment of the level of (self-)incompatibility. We here present an optimized semi in vivo pollination assay, that enables quantitative analysis of (self-)incompatibility in pear, and that can also serve useful for more fundamental studies on pollen tube development and pollen-style interactions. This assay involves in vitro incubation of cut pollinated styles followed by microscopic counting of emerging pollen tubes at a specific time interval. The validity and selectivity of this method to determine compatibility interactions in pear is demonstrated in the cultivars "Celina" and "Packham's Triumph." Overall, this technique constitutes a valuable tool for quantitatively determining in vivo pollen tube growth and (cross-)compatibility in pear.

Keywords: Controlled pollination; Excised style; Gametophytic self-incompatibility; Pyrus communis L.; S-locus; Semi in vivo assay.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Bieniasz M, Necas T, Dziedzic E, Ondrasek I, Pawlowska B, Pawłowska B (2017) Evaluation of pollen quality and self-fertility in selected cultivars of Asian and European pears. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici 45(2):375–382. https://doi.org/10.15835/nbha45210877 - DOI
    1. Broothaerts W, Keulemans J, Van Nerum I (2004) Self-fertile apple resulting from S-RNase gene silencing. Plant Cell Rep 22(7):497–501. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-003-0716-4 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chen Y-F, Matsubayashi Y, Sakagami Y (2000) Peptide growth factor phytosulfokine-α contributes to the pollen population effect. Planta 211(5):752–755. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004250000370 - DOI - PubMed
    1. De Nettancourt D (1997) Incompatibility in angiosperms. Sex Plant Reprod 10(4):185–199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004970050087 - DOI
    1. De Franceschi P, Pierantoni L, Dondini L, Grandi M, Sanzol J, Sansavini S (2011) Cloning and mapping multiple S-locus F-box genes in European pear (Pyrus communis L.). Tree Genet Genomes 7(2):231–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-010-0327-5 - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources