Identification of a gene encoding polygalacturonase expressed specifically in short styles in distylous common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)

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Common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is a heteromorphic self-incompatible (SI) species with two types of floral architecture: thrum (short style) and pin (long style). The floral morphology and intra-morph incompatibility are controlled by a single genetic locus, S. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the heteromorphic self-incompatibility of common buckwheat remain unclear. To identify these mechanisms, we performed proteomic, quantitative reverse-transcription PCR, and linkage analyses. Comparison of protein profiles between the long and short styles revealed a protein unique to the short style. Amino-acid sequencing revealed that it was a truncated form of polygalacturonase (PG); we designated the gene encoding this protein FePG1. Phylogenetic analysis classified FePG1 into the same clade as PGs that function in pollen development and floral morphology. FePG1 expression was significantly higher in short styles than in long styles. It was expressed in flowers of a short-homostyle line but not in flowers of a long-homostyle line. Linkage analysis indicated that FePG1 was not linked to the S locus; it could be a factor downstream of this locus. Our finding of a gene putatively working under the regulation of the S locus provides useful information for elucidation of the mechanism of heteromorphic self-incompatibility.