Graft-Induced Changes in Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.). II. Changes of Fruit Color and Fruit Shape in the Grafted Scions and in the Progenies from the Grafted Scions

Abstract

Progressive grafting experiments with two eggplant cultivars, Shinkuronasu and Shiro-nasu, in Solanum melongena L. were carried out to obtain graft-induced changes by two grafting methods. The so-called "Mentor method" were applied. The changes in fruit color (skin color-flesh color) and in Lruit shape (shape index= length/maximum diameter) were observed in the reciprocal graft combinations by seedling and fruit graftings. Based on the gene analysis of the fruit color by the crossings between Shinkuronasu and Shironasu, the gene changes in the grafted scions and their progenies were inferred as follows: from ddgg (white skin-white flesh, Shironasu type) or DDGG (dark purple-green, Shinkuronasu type) to DdGg (purple-green), from ddgg to ddGg (green-green), from ddgg to D-G-(purple to dark purple-green) +ddG-(green-green), from ddgg to D-G-+D-gg (purple to dark purple-white)+ddG-, from ddgg to D-G-+D-gg, from ddG- to D-G-, from ddG- to D-G-+D-gg, from D-gg to D-G- and from D-gg to D-G-+ddG-. It was discussed that the genotypic changes inferred fpr the fruit color in the grafted scions and their progenies were sirnilar to those in transformation phenomena in higher plants such as Petunia and Arabidopsis.