combining-histochemical-staining-image-analysis-to-quantify-starch

Combining Histochemical Staining and Image Analysis to Quantify Starch in the Ovary Primordia of Sweet Cherry during Winter Dormancy

Changes in starch in small structures are associated with key events during several plant developmental processes, including the reproductive phase from ...

determination-self-inter-incompatibility-relationships-apricot

Determination of Self- and Inter-(in)compatibility Relationships in Apricot Combining Hand-Pollination, Microscopy and Genetic Analyses

Self-incompatibility in Rosaceae is determined by a Gametophytic Self-Incompatibility System (GSI) that is mainly controlled by the multiallelic locus S. ...

establishing-pollination-requirements-japanese-plum-phenological

Establishing Pollination Requirements in Japanese Plum by Phenological Monitoring, Hand Pollinations, Fluorescence Microscopy and Molecular Genotyping

The Japanese plum cultivars commonly grown are interspecific hybrids derived from crosses between the original Prunus salicina with other Prunus species. ...

Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón

Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA)

Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza)

Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2

Apricot ( L.) is a species of the Rosaceae that was originated in Central Asia, from where it entered Europe through Armenia. The release of an increasing number of new cultivars from different breeding programs is resulting in an important renewal of plant material worldwide. Although most traditional apricot cultivars in Europe are self-compatible, the use of self-incompatible cultivars as parental genotypes for breeding purposes is leading to the introduction of a number of new cultivars that behave as self-incompatible. As a consequence, there is an increasing need to interplant those new cultivars with cross-compatible cultivars to ensure fruit set in commercial orchards. However, the pollination requirements of many of these new cultivars are unknown. In this work, we analyze the pollination requirements of a group of 92 apricot cultivars, including traditional and newly-released cultivars from different breeding programs and countries. Self-compatibility was established by the observation of pollen tube behavior in self-pollinated flowers under the microscope. Incompatibility relationships between cultivars were established by the identification of -alleles by PCR analysis. The self-(in)compatibility of 68 cultivars and the  genotype of 74 cultivars are reported herein for the first time. Approximately half of the cultivars (47) behaved as self-compatible and the other 45 as self-incompatible. Identification of -alleles in self-incompatible cultivars allowed allocating them in 11 incompatibility groups, six of them reported here for the first time. The determination of pollination requirements and the incompatibility relationships between cultivars is highly valuable for the appropriate selection of apricot cultivars in commercial orchards and of parental genotypes in breeding programs. The approach described can be transferred to other woody perennial crops with similar problems.

Optimizing Production in the New Generation of Apricot Cultivars: Self-incompatibility,  Allele Identification, and Incompatibility Group Assignment.

Self-incompatibility (SI) is one of the most efficient mechanisms to promote out-crossing in plants. However, SI could be a problem for fruit production. An example is apricot (), in which, as in other species of the Rosaceae, SI is determined by an S-RNase-based-Gametophytic Self-Incompatibility (GSI) system. Incompatibility relationships between cultivars can be established by an -allele genotyping PCR strategy. Until recently, most of the traditional European apricot cultivars were self-compatible but several breeding programs have introduced an increasing number of new cultivars whose pollination requirements are unknown. To fill this gap, we have identified the -allele of 44 apricot genotypes, of which 43 are reported here for the first time. The identification of  in 15 genotypes suggests that those cultivars are self-compatible. In five genotypes, self-(in)compatibility was established by the observation of pollen tube growth in self-pollinated flowers, since PCR analysis could not allowed distinguishing between the  and ₈ alleles. Self-incompatible genotypes were assigned to their corresponding self-incompatibility groups. The knowledge of incompatibility relationships between apricot cultivars can be a highly valuable tool for the development of future breeding programs by selecting the appropriate parents and for efficient orchard design by planting self-compatible and inter-compatible cultivars.

Identification of Self-Incompatibility Alleles by Specific PCR Analysis and  Sequencing in Apricot.

Anther and pollen development is a highly conserved process in angiosperms, but while pollen formation in annual plants occurs in a few days, in temperate woody perennials, it requires several months. How anther and pollen development is framed in terms of seasonality plays a clear part in reproductive success. In this study, seasonal anther and pollen development is characterized in two sweet cherry cultivars over 2 years, paying special attention to the period of dormancy and unveiling the role of starch in this process. We evaluated starch content from the autumn until bud burst with the help of an image analysis system fitted to a light microscope. Microscope observations allowed the temporal relationship of pollen development to the phenological stages of flower and bud development to be determined. In both cultivars and years, anther and pollen development followed the same pattern. Development was halted by dormancy, when the anthers showed no morphological changes until several weeks after chilling fulfillment, until the milder temperatures reactivated development. After dormancy, starch was accumulated in the connective tissue until tracheary element differentiation. Quantification of starch in the connective tissue of anthers revealed its importance in supporting pollen meiosis and subsequent anther growth.

Javier Rodrigo

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza)

Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón

Combining Histochemical Staining and Image Analysis to Quantify Starch in the Ovary Primordia of Sweet Cherry during Winter Dormancy

Determination of Self- and Inter-(in)compatibility Relationships in Apricot Combining Hand-Pollination, Microscopy and Genetic Analyses

Establishing Pollination Requirements in Japanese Plum by Phenological Monitoring, Hand Pollinations, Fluorescence Microscopy and Molecular Genotyping

Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza)