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- Author or Editor: Shaoling Zhang x
- HortScience x
Cultivars of the Japanese pear [Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm.) Nakai] have variable degrees of self-incompatibility (SI) and can be classified into at least three groups: strong, intermediate, or weak SI; as shown by the extent of self-pollen tube growth in the style, and the percentage of fruit set following self-pollination. Following self-pollination, the elongation of pollen tubes in the detached styles of `Kosui' and `Kikusui' became increasingly suppressed from 4 days before anthesis (–4 DAA) to 2 days after anthesis (2 DAA). Tube growth of `Kosui' was more suppressed than that of `Kikusui' during this period. In `Osa-Nijisseiki', however, the rate of tube growth did not vary with stage of stylar development, from –8 to 2 DAA. Pollen tubes elongated much better after cross-pollination than after self-pollination at all stages tested, and the extent of the elongation increased as the styles matured. The concentration of total S-protein (sum of two S-proteins per buffer-soluble protein) increased with stylar development, but the rate of increase varied with the cultivar. The rate was significantly greater in the strongly self-incompatible `Kosui' than in the moderately self-incompatible `Kikusui', and was slowest in the weakly self-incompatible `Osa-Nijisseiki' at all developmental stages. During stylar maturation, the concentration of S4-protein, which is common in all cultivars, was highest in `Kosui', followed by `Kikusui' and `Osa-Nijisseiki'. Thus, the cultivar differences in SI expression in the Japanese pear are determined about –4 DAA and appear to be regulated, in part, by the concentration of S-proteins produced in the style.
Ascorbic acid (AsA) is a major antioxidant and redox buffer in plants. Dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR; EC 1.8.5.1) catalyzes the conversion of dehydroascorbate (DHA) to AsA and is crucial for AsA regeneration. In this study, we developed transgenic tomato plants that overexpressed PbDHAR2 to investigate whether PbDHAR2 could limit the deleterious effects of salt and chilling stresses. These transgenic plants contained significantly higher AsA levels than the wild-type (WT) plants. Overexpression of PbDHAR2 increased the expression of the AsA-glutathione (GSH) cycle genes in transgenic lines under salt and chilling stresses. In addition, the transgenic lines subjected to salt and chilling stresses showed higher levels of antioxidant enzyme activity, lower malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and higher chlorophyll contents than the WT. Thus, our results demonstrate that the regulation of PbDHAR2 during AsA regeneration contributes to enhanced salt and chilling tolerance in tomato.