Abstract
Key messageLC-MS based metabolomics approach revealed that putative metabolites other than flavonoids may significantly contribute to the sexual compatibility reactions in Prunus armeniaca. Possible mechanisms on related microtubule-stabilizing effects are provided.Identification of metabolites playing crucial roles in sexual incompatibility reactions in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) was the aim of the study. Metabolic fingerprints of self-compatible and self-incompatible apricot pistils were created using liquid chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry followed by untargeted compound search. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed 15 significant differential compounds among the total of 4006 and 1005 aligned metabolites in positive and negative ion modes, respectively. Total explained variance of 89.55% in principal component analysis (PCA) indicated high quality of differential expression analysis. The statistical analysis showed significant differences between genotypes and pollination time as well, which demonstrated high performance of the metabolic fingerprinting and revealed the presence of metabolites with significant influence on the self-incompatibility reactions. Finally, polyketide-based macrolides similar to peloruside A and a hydroxy sphingosine derivative are suggested to be significant differential metabolites in the experiment. These results indicate a strategy of pollen tubes to protect microtubules and avoid growth arrest involved in sexual incompatibility reactions of apricot.
Highlights
Genetic variation creates the basis of evolutionary success of a species allowing natural selection to favor the genotypes most adapted to external conditions
Two genes were identified in the S-locus with one coding a pistil-specific ribonuclease enzyme (S-RNase) and another for an S-haplotype-specific F-box (SFB) protein produced in pollen tubes (Matsumoto and Tao 2019)
The self-incompatibility reaction in pollen tubes of Prunus fruit trees is mediated by the specific recognition between pollen SFBs and pistil S-RNases that enter the pollen tube (Matsumoto and Tao 2019; Sonneveld et al 2005)
Summary
Genetic variation creates the basis of evolutionary success of a species allowing natural selection to favor the genotypes most adapted to external conditions. In sexually-reproducing organisms, the sources of genetic variation include mutations and several processes in meiosis. In hermaphrodite plants, self-fertilization may result in a serious loss of genetic variability and consequent inbreeding depression (Good-Avila et al 2008; Martínez-García et al 2012). Such plants have elaborated genetically controlled mechanisms to prevent self-fertilization (Kao and Tsukamoto 2004). One such mechanism is the gametophytic selfincompatibility (GSI) in the Rosaceae family determined by the self-incompatibility (S) locus.
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