No abstract

cDNAs encoding three S-RNases of almond (Prunus dulcis), which belongs to the family Rosaceae, were cloned and sequenced. The comparison of amino acid sequences between the S-RNases of almond and those of other rosaceous species showed that the amino acid sequences of the rosaceous S-RNases are highly divergent, and intra-subfamilial similarities are higher than inter-subfamilial similarities. Twelve amino acid sequences of the rosaceous S-RNases were aligned to characterize their primary structural features. In spite of their high level of diversification, the rosaceous S-RNases were found to have five conserved regions, C1, C2, C3, C5, and RC4 which is Rosaceae-specific conserved region. Many variable sites fall into one region, named RHV. RHV is located at a similar position to that of the hypervariable region a (HVa) of the solanaceous S-RNases, and is assumed to be involved in recognizing S-specificity of pollen. On the other hand, the region corresponding to another solanaceous hypervariable region (HVb) was not variable in the rosaceous S-RNases. In the phylogenetic tree of the T2/S type RNase, the rosaceous S-RNase fall into two subfamily-specific groups (Amygdaloideae and Maloideae). The results of sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis imply that the present S-RNases of Rosaceae have diverged again relatively recently, after the divergence of subfamilies.

This report identifies S-RNases of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) and presents information about cDNA sequences encoding the S-RNases, which leads to the development of a molecular typing system for S-alleles in this fruit tree species. Stylar proteins of sweet cherry were surveyed by two dimensional polyaclylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) to identify S-proteins associated with gametophytic self-incompatibility. Glycoprotein spots linked to S-alleles were found in a group of proteins which had Mr and pI similar to those of other rosaceous S-RNases. These glycoproteins were present at highest concentration in the upper segment of the mature style and shared immunological characteristics and N-terminal sequences with those of S-RNases of other plant species. cDNAs encoding these glycoproteins were cloned based on the N-terminal sequences. Genomic DNA and RNA blot analyses and deduced amino acid sequences indicated that the cDNAs encode S-RNases; thus the S-proteins identified by 2D-PAGE are S-RNases. Although S1 to S6-alleles of sweet cherry cultivars could be distinguished from each other with the genomic DNA blot analysis, a much simpler method of PCR-based typing system was developed for the six S-alleles based on the DNA sequence data obtained from the cDNAs encoding S-RNases.

SummaryMany Prunus species, including sweet cherry and Japanese apricot, of the Rosaceae, display an S-RNase-based gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI). The specificity of this outcrossing mechanism is determined by a minimum of two genes that are located in a multigene complex, termed the S locus, which controls the pistil and pollen specificities. SFB, a gene located in the S locus region, encodes an F-box protein that has appropriate S haplotype-specific variation to be the pollen determinant in the self-incompatibility reaction. This study characterizes SFBs of two self-compatible (SC) haplotypes, S 4¢ and S f , of Prunus. S 4¢ of sweet cherry is a pollen-part mutant (PPM) that was produced by X-ray irradiation, while S f of Japanese apricot is a naturally occurring SC haplotype that is considered to be a PPM. DNA sequence analysis revealed defects in both SFB 4¢and SFB f . A 4 bp deletion upstream from the HVa coding region of SFB 4¢ causes a frame-shift that produces transcripts of a defective SFB lacking the two hypervariable regions, HVa and HVb. Similarly, the presence of a 6.8 kbp insertion in the middle of the SFB f coding region leads to transcripts for a defective SFB lacking the C-terminal half that contains HVa and HVb. As all reported SFBs of functional S haplotypes encode intact SFB, the fact that the partial loss-of-function mutations in SFB are present in SC mutant haplotypes of Prunus provides additional evidence that SFB is the pollen S gene in GSI in Prunus.

;This study describes a novel F-box protein gene in the S-locus of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus) and sweet cherry (P. avium). The gene showed an S-haplotype-specific sequence polymorphism and the expression was specific to pollen. Genomic DNA blot analysis of eight sweet cherry cultivars with the probe for the F-box protein gene under low stringency conditions yielded RFLP bands specific to the S-haplotypes of each cultivar. We discuss the possibility of the gene for the F-box protein being a candidate for the male determinant of gametophytic self-incompatibility in Prunus.