Abstract
<p>A functional cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) eggplant line carrying the cytoplasm of <em>Solanum violaceum</em> was developed in the past, but the fertility restoring genes (<em>Rf</em>-genes) were not identified. This work aimed to produce the CMS lines of three Hellenic eggplant cultivars (viz., ‘Langada’, ‘Emi’ and ‘Tsakoniki’) using the cytoplasm of <em>S. violaceum</em> and study the inheritance of the <em>Rf</em>-genes. The respective CMS eggplant lines were developed by the backcross method and examined for their fertility parameters. The results demonstrated that female fertility was not affected by the cytoplasm of <em>S. violaceum</em>. In contrast, the occurrence of three male fertility phenotypes (male sterile, male fertile and potentially male fertile) indicated that male fertility was affected by nuclear/cytoplasmic interactions. Male sterile plants were characterized by indehiscent anthers, low pollen viability and abnormal anther morphology. Male fertile plants formed dehiscent anthers with high pollen viability and normal morphology. Potentially male fertile plants initially formed dehiscent anthers, but in later stages formed exclusively indehiscent anthers. Male fertile plants were obtained in the advanced backcross populations of CMS ‘Tsakoniki’, but not in CMS ‘Langada’ and CMS ‘Emi’. The genetic analysis of fertility restoration indicated that male fertility in the genetic background of cv. ‘Tsakoniki’ is controlled by one essential genetic locus, affected by a secondary modifying locus. Molecular analysis of cp-DNA and mt-DNA in the CMS lines indicated maternal inheritance of the cytoplasm organelles. Our findings demonstrate that the genotype of the eggplant parent can affect the expression of CMS as well as fertility restoration.</p>
Highlights
Eggplant (Solanum melongena L., Solanaceae) is an Old World vegetable crop of significant economic importance and its fruits are worldwide marketed for fresh consumption or processed
Our results demonstrate that the cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) induced by the S. violaceum cytoplasm had no negative effect on the female fertility of the examined plant material
The present study confirmed the suitability of S. violaceum as a cytoplasm donor for the development of functional CMS eggplant lines
Summary
Eggplant (Solanum melongena L., Solanaceae) is an Old World vegetable crop of significant economic importance and its fruits are worldwide marketed for fresh consumption or processed. Commercial F1 hybrids are widely used in eggplant cultivation because they exhibit heterosis in several agronomical traits including earliness and yield (Kakizaki, 1931; Rodríguez, Prohens, & Nuez, 2008; Sambandam, 1962). In the 2015 European catalogue of registered varieties, more than 75.0% of the eggplant entries were F1 hybrids (European Commission, 2015). Since the eggplant flower is androgynous, emasculation and hand pollination are required in hybrid seed production, resulting in a higher seed cost. A strategy to reduce that cost is to use eggplant male sterile lines as female parents in hybrid seed production. In these lines flower emasculation is not necessary and pollination can be achieved manually or with insect pollinators
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