Articles
ANALYSIS OF SELF-FERTILITY IN TRANSGENIC APPLE LINES TRANSFORMED WITH AN S-ALLELE EITHER IN SENSE OR ANTISENSE DIRECTION
Article number
538_110
Pages
625 – 629
Language
Abstract
Apple trees are moderately to strongly self-incompatible.
Because of this self-incompatibility, fruit production is dependent on the activity of insects, which is strongly influenced by weather conditions.
Self-incompatibility therefore leads to irregular fruit production.
To obtain self-fertile apple trees, plants from the strongly self-incompatible apple cv. ‘Elstar’ were transformed with either a sense or antisense copy of one of the endogenous alleles of the S-gene which controls the self-incompatibility reaction.
In spring 1999 these transgenic trees were flowering.
For each tree part of the flowers were self-pollinated and part were cross-pollinated with pollen of the cross-compatible apple cv. ‘Delbard Jubilé’. Analysis of fruit and seed set revealed that in some lines the self-incompatibility mechanism was switched off.
Fruit and seed set after self-pollination in these lines were comparable to that obtained after cross-pollination.
Fluorescence microscopy further confirmed that in these lines the incompatibility mechanism was switched off as pollen tubes were frequently observed in the ovules six days after self-pollination.
Because of this self-incompatibility, fruit production is dependent on the activity of insects, which is strongly influenced by weather conditions.
Self-incompatibility therefore leads to irregular fruit production.
To obtain self-fertile apple trees, plants from the strongly self-incompatible apple cv. ‘Elstar’ were transformed with either a sense or antisense copy of one of the endogenous alleles of the S-gene which controls the self-incompatibility reaction.
In spring 1999 these transgenic trees were flowering.
For each tree part of the flowers were self-pollinated and part were cross-pollinated with pollen of the cross-compatible apple cv. ‘Delbard Jubilé’. Analysis of fruit and seed set revealed that in some lines the self-incompatibility mechanism was switched off.
Fruit and seed set after self-pollination in these lines were comparable to that obtained after cross-pollination.
Fluorescence microscopy further confirmed that in these lines the incompatibility mechanism was switched off as pollen tubes were frequently observed in the ovules six days after self-pollination.
Authors
I. Van Nerum, F. Incerti, J. Keulemans, W. Broothaerts
Keywords
Malus x domestica, ‘Elstar’, fruit set, seed set, pollen tube growth
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