Molecular Genetic Aspects of Self-incompatibility in Brassicaceae

Abstract

Molecular genetic studies of self-incompatibility (SI) are the most accentuating part in the way of advancement of reproductive mechanisms in flowering plants. In the Brassicaceae plants, self-incompatibility has been mapped genetically to a single chromosomal location where several closely linked genes have been identified. Recently, various studies have provided a novel insight into the basis of specificity in the S-receptor kinase (SRK) and S-locus protein 11 or S-locus Cysteine-rich (SP11/SCR) interaction, the nature of the signaling cascade that culminates in the inhibition of ‘self’ pollen, and the physiological and morphological changes that are associated with transitions between the outbreeding and inbreeding modes of mating in the Brassicaceae. In this review, we discuss the current view of the molecular genetic aspects of the self-incompatibility in Brassicaceae.