Self-incompatibility: how plants avoid illegitimate offspring

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 91; no. 6; pp. 1992 - 1997
• Main Authors: Matton, D.P, Nass, N, Clarke, A.E, Newbigin, E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Acad Sciences 15.03.1994; National Academy of Sciences
• Subjects: AUTOESTERILIDAD; AUTOSTERILITE; Botany; CRUCIFERAE; Flowers & plants; GENE; GENES; GINECEO; GLICOPROTEINAS; GLYCOPROTEINE; GYNECEE; LOCI; LOCUS; PAPAVER; Papaveraceae; Plant reproduction; POLEN; POLLEN; PROTEINAS; PROTEINE; RESISTANCE AUX MALADIES; RESISTENCIA A LA ENFERMEDAD; SOLANACEAE
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.91.6.1992

In some families of flowering plants, a single self-incompatibility (S) locus prevents the fertilization of flowers by pollen from the same plant. Self-incompatibility of this type involves the interaction of molecules produced by the S locus in pollen with those present in the female tissues (pistil). Until recently, the pistil products of the S locus were known in only two families, the Brassicaceae (which includes the cabbages and mustards) and Solanaceae (potatoes and tomatoes). A paper in this issue of the Proceedings describes the molecules associated with self-incompatibility in a third family, the Papaveraceae (poppies). We review current research on self-incompatibility in these three families and discuss the implications of the latest findings in poppy on the likely evolution of self-incompatibility in flowering plants. We also compare research into self-incompatibility with recent progress in understanding the mechanisms by which plants overcome infection by certain pathogens