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Gametophytic Self-Incompatibility Is Operative in Miscanthus sinensis (Poaceae) and Is Affected by Pistil Age
Crop Science
  • Jianziong Jiang, United States Department of Agriculture
  • Sheila McCormick, University of California - Berkeley
  • Jack Juvik, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Shui-zhang Fei, Iowa State University
  • Thomas Lubberstedt, Iowa State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2017
DOI
10.2135/cropsci2016.11.0932
Abstract

Miscanthus sinensis Anderss. (Poaceae) has desirable traits for a dedicated biomass crop. An important breeding goal for M. sinensis is to develop F1 hybrid cultivars. A clear understanding of its reproductive mode will help to identify effective breeding strategies toward that goal. We performed >1000 semi-in-vivo reciprocal crosses and self-pollinations to determine pollen–pistil compatibility responses. Self-pollination showed a self-incompatibility (SI) response typical for grasses, indicating that SI is operative in M. sinensis. The majority of self-pollen produced short tubes that terminated at the stigmatic surface of mature pistils, but some self-pollen tubes entered into the transmitting tract. The developmental stage of pistils affects pollen–pistil interactions, as younger pistils allowed significantly more self-pollen to enter the transmitting tract, with some even reaching the ovule. Cross pollinations among progeny of reciprocal crosses between the cultivar Gross Fontaine and the cultivar Undine showed four classes of compatibility responses with 0, 50, 75, and 100% compatible pollen and exhibited differences in reciprocal compatibility for certain crosses. Taken together, our results showed that SI in M. sinensis is gametophytic and is likely controlled by a multiallelic, two-locus S and Z system, similar to those reported for other grasses. The findings from this study will facilitate the identification and isolation of genes related to SI and ultimately F1 hybrid production in M. sinensis.

Comments

This article is published as Jiang, Jianxiong, Yuefeng Guan, Sheila McCormick, Jack Juvik, Thomas Lubberstedt, and Shui-zhang Fei. "Gametophytic Self-Incompatibility Is Operative in (Poaceae) and Is Affected by Pistil Age." Crop Science (2017). 10.2135/cropsci2016.11.0932. Posted with permission.

Rights
Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted.
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Jianziong Jiang, Sheila McCormick, Jack Juvik, Shui-zhang Fei, et al.. "Gametophytic Self-Incompatibility Is Operative in Miscanthus sinensis (Poaceae) and Is Affected by Pistil Age" Crop Science Vol. 57 Iss. 4 (2017) p. 1948 - 1956
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/thomas-lubberstedt/30/