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Methylation of the S f locus in almond is associated with S-RNase loss of function

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Abstract

Self-compatibility in almond (Prunus dulcis) is attributed to the presence of the S f haplotype, allelic to and dominant over the series of S-alleles controlling self-incompatibility. Some forms of the S f haplotype, however, are phenotypically self-incompatible even though their nucleotide sequences are identical. DNA from leaves and styles from genetically diverse almond samples was cloned and sequenced and then analyzed for changes affecting S f -RNase variants. Epigenetic changes in several cytosine residues were detected in a fragment of 4,700 bp of the 5′ upstream region of all self-compatible samples of the S f -RNases, differentiating them from all self-incompatible samples of S f -RNases analyzed. This is the first report of DNA methylation in a Rosaceae species and appears to be strongly associated with inactivation of the S f allele. Results facilitate an understanding of the evolution of self-compatibility/self-incompatibility in almond and other Prunus species, and suggest novel approaches for future crop improvement.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Spanish grant AGL2010-22197-C02-01 and the Research Group A12 of Aragón. A. Fernández i Martí acknowledges a scholarship co-funded by the Spanish ‘Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia’ and the European Social Fund (FSE), under projects AGL 2004-06674-C02-01 and BES-2006-12621. Special thanks are due to Drs. J.M. Alonso (CITA) and F. Dicenta (CEBAS-CSIC) for providing plant samples, and to Drs. R. Tao, T. Akagi and T. Hanada (Univ. of Kyoto, Japan) for their collaboration in designing the experiment.

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  1. Angel Fernández i Martí

    Present address: Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA, 956161, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad de Hortofruticultura, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), Av. Montañana 930, 50059, Saragossa, Spain

    Angel Fernández i Martí & Rafel Socias i Company

  2. Department of Plant Science, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Thomas M. Gradziel

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  1. Angel Fernández i Martí
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Correspondence to Angel Fernández i Martí.

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Fernández i Martí, A., Gradziel, T.M. & Socias i Company, R. Methylation of the S f locus in almond is associated with S-RNase loss of function. Plant Mol Biol 86, 681–689 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-014-0258-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-014-0258-x

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