Syrian pear (Pyrus syriaca) as a pollinator for European pear (Pyrus communis) cultivars

In Israel four European pear cultivars are grown: ‘Spadona’ is the main cultivar and ‘Coscia’, ‘Gentile’ and ‘Spadochina’ are its pollinators. However, molecular S-genotyping revealed that ‘Spadona’ is semi-compatible with its three pollinators. This explains, at least in part, the relatively low pear yield in Israel. The Syrian pear (Pyrus syriaca) grows wild in Israel and blooms intensively, overlapping the blooming of the cultivated European pears. Cross-fertilization between Syrian pear and ‘Spadona’ was shown to be efficient suggesting that Syrian pear might be a potent pollinator for ‘Spadona’. Twenty-six Syrian pear seedlings, from different sites in north-east Israel were S-genotyped identifying 11 that are fully compatible with the four European pear varieties cultivated in Israel. By this screening, 24 different S-RNases were cloned; ten of them are new, whereas the other fourteen had been identified previously. In addition, seedlings of two wild pear species were also S-genotyped. Two seedlings from Pyrus betulifolia and one from Pyrus korshinskii were found to be genetically compatible with the four European pear cultivars. From these seedlings four S-RNases were cloned, two are new, one had been cloned previously and one was identical to an S-RNase allele cloned from Syrian pear in this work.     

Identification of S-alleles in pear (Pyrus communis L.) cv. ‘Rocha’ and other European cultivars

In this work we report the cloning and identification of S-RNase alleles responsible for gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI) of ‘Rocha’ pear and of 13 other European pear cultivars that might be used as its pollinators. Partial sequences of S-RNase alleles were amplified by PCR with specific primers hybridising in conserved regions of previously identified S-RNase alleles of Pyrus communis, cloned and sequenced and the S-genotype of eight pear cultivars was fully determined. Three cultivars (‘General Léclerc’ (SqSl), ‘Tosca’ (SbSl) and ‘Alexandrine Douillard’ (SbSk)) shared no S-alleles with ‘Rocha’ (SaSe) and shall be totally compatible with this cultivar. None of the cultivars analysed showed an identical amplification pattern to the one observed in ‘Rocha’, so the other cultivars shall be at least semi-compatible. One new allele was identified in P. communis cv. ‘Beurré d’Avril’ (designated as St). The determination of both S-RNase alleles of cvs ‘Rocha’, ‘Beurré Precoce Morettini’ (SeSk) and ‘Tosca’ and the identification of one S-RNase allele in cvs ‘Carapinheira’ (Sb), ‘Amêndoa’ (Se), ‘Pérola’ (Sk) and ‘Beurré d’Avril’ (St) are important contributions for the effort recently developed worldwide to establish groups of sexual compatibility among European pears.     

梨20个品种S基因型的鉴定及新S-RNases基因克隆

 为了鉴定我国梨品种和一些野生类型个体的S基因型,应用S-RNase特异PCR扩增、克隆和测序,对其S-RNases基因核苷酸序列进行分析,鉴定了20个梨品种和野生类型个体的S基因型。起源于我国的'奥连'(S_pS₃₂)、'吊蛋'(S_dS_e)、'沙疙瘩'（S₃₆S_d）品种和杏叶梨的一个类型（S₂₂S_c）个体中存在西洋梨的S-RNase基因,证明S-RNase基因分化是在东方梨种群和西方梨种群的各个种形成之前。在秋子梨的'麦梨'、'内蒙古山梨'中发现了2个新S-RNases基因,命名为S₄₀-、S₄₁-RNase（DQ903313、DQ988687）。S₄₀-和S₄₁-RNase基因推导的部分氨基酸序列分别与苹果属S₁₁-和S₆-RNase的同源性为100%和94.4%,这表明S-RNase的存在可能在梨属和苹果属形成之前。     

Identification of seven haplotype-specific SFBs in European pear (Pyrus communis) and their use as molecular markers

The European pear (Pyrus communis) carries the S-RNase-mediated gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI) system. The S-haplotype is conferred by an S-locus, which contains the style-specific expressed S-RNase, and the pollen-specific expressed F-box genes (SFB). Both the S-RNase and the SFB genes are multi-allelic and each is characteristic of one of the S-haplotypes. Therefore, they are ideal markers for molecular S-genotyping. In this work, for the first time, seven haplotype-specific SFBs were isolated from European pears. Particular primers for each of these SFBs were generated, thus providing an additional tool for S-genotyping of European pear cultivars.     

京白梨等品种S 基因型鉴定及新基因S28 和S30 的核苷酸序列分析

 根据梨S基因高度保守区C1和C3区, 设计1对引物P1和P2, 对梨品种的基因组DNA进行S基因特异扩增、克隆、测序, 并在GenBank中BLAST比较, 确定S 基因特异性片段, 对京白梨等6个供试自交不亲和品种的S基因型比对结果为: 白梨中的‘库尔勒香梨’为S₂₁ S₂₈ , ‘苹果梨’为S₁₇S₁₉ ; 砂梨中的‘台湾蜜梨’为S₁₁ S₂₂ ; 西洋梨中的‘葫芦梨’为S_a S_b; 秋子梨中的‘京白’为S₁₆ S₃₀ , ‘早梨18’为S₄ S₂₈。其中S₂₈和S₃₀为首次登录的新S 基因, 在GenBank的登录号分别为AY562394 (库尔勒香梨) 和AY876945 (京白) 。     

Genetic Relationship of Iranian Pear Genotypes with European and Asian Pears as Revealed by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Markers

Genetic variation within specific fruit tree germplasms is an important tool in fruit tree breeding programs. In the present work, the genetic relationship of 31 European and Iranian (Pyrus communis L.) and Asian (Pyrus serotina Rehd) genotypes of pear were studied using 19 randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers. Fifteen out of the 19 primers used in this study amplified 3373 clear and reproducible bands associated with 150 loci and many of them were polymorphic. The dendrogram resulting from the unweighted pair-group method of arithmetic cluster analysis separated the cultivars into eight groups. The correlation coefficient between the cophenetic matrix and the similarity matrix was 0.82 (r = 0.82). There was a significant difference between populations and most studied genotypes clustered closely together based on their geographic origin and Iranian pears placed between two groups of pears. Results showed the suitability of RAPD analysis in genetic diversity study of pear.     

Genetic diversity in local Tunisian pears (Pyrus communis L.) studied with SSR markers

Few records are available about local Tunisian pear cultivars characterized by low chilling requirements and adaptation to dry conditions. In this work, seven SSRs derived from apple were successfully transferred to 25 local Tunisian pear genotypes and 6 common varieties of Pyrus communis cultivated in Europe. The 7 SSRs used amplified a total of 36 fragments. All the microsatellites except one seem to amplify more than one locus in some of the genotypes studied. Only 12 different fingerprinting patterns could be distinguished among the 25 Tunisian cultivars studied indicating a high number of synonymies. The mean expected and observed heterozygosities in the 25 Tunisian cultivars analyzed averaged 0.71 indicating a high level of genetic diversity among the local Tunisian pear germplasm. These markers will be useful to optimize the conservation of this highly threatened germplasm.     

白梨新S基因的克隆

 采用PCR - RFLP检测、DNA序列分析和田间杂交试验, 从白梨中分离鉴定了1个新的S-RNase基因。该S-RNase基因PCR扩增产物大小与S-RNase基因PCR产物相似, 为450 bp左右。但PCR -RFLP和DNA序列分析均表明, 它与S₈-RNase基因存在较大差异, 该基因内含子为252 bp, 而S₈-RNase的内含子为234 bp, 并在高变区中具有10个氨基酸出现替换, 有两个氨基酸出现缺失。而该S-RNase基因却与S₁₂-RNase基因具有较高的相似性, 在HV区中只有1处碱基被替换, 周边区中有10处出现碱基替换或缺失。因此, 继梨S18-RNase基因, 将它命名为S₁₉-RNase基因(AY250987) 。与S 基因型已确定的梨品种的杂交坐果率也说明了该基因是一个新的S-RNase基因。     

Antimicrobial,Antioxidant, and Antimutagenic Activities of Five Turkish Pear Cultivars

The pear (Pyrus spp.) is one of the most important fruits consumed in daily life. The aim of this study was to determine the total phenolic and ascorbic acid contents, as well as the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antimutagenic activities, of various pear cultivars. The fruits of five pear (Pyrus communis L.) cultivars (‘Deveci’, ‘Kizil’, ‘Egirsah’, ‘Gugum’, and ‘Banda’) were used in this study. It was determined that the peel and pulp of the ‘Kizil’ pear had the highest total phenolic content (402.5?mg/100?g and 215.2?mg/100?g, respectively), while those of the ‘Banda’ pear had the lowest total phenolic content (326?mg/100?g and 126.1?mg/100?g, respectively). Additionally, the ‘Kizil’ pear showed the highest antioxidant capacity in the 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) and ferric-reducing ability assay (FRAP) (1.72 μmol TE/g FW and 161.25?μmol Fe II/g FW, respectively) and the highest ascorbic acid content (16.02?mg/100?g). The ‘Banda’ pear showed the highest antibacterial activity against the test bacteria. However, none of the pear extracts displayed antifungal activity. While all doses of the ‘Kizil’, ‘Gugum’, and ‘Banda’ pear extracts used in this study, except 80?μL/plate, exhibited antimutagenic activities, only the lowest dose (10?μL/plate) of the ‘Deveci’ pear extract showed the antimutagenic activity against induced mutagenesis in the Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 strain. Consequently, the five Turkish pear cultivars used in this study exhibited different levels of antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antimutagenic activities.     

秋子梨品种‘龙香’S基因型的鉴定及梨S_(42)-RNase新基因的序列分析

利用特异引物对秋子梨品种‘龙香'的基因组DNA进行PCR扩增.通过对扩增片段的回收、克隆和测序,获得2条大小分别为469 bp和653 bp的DNA序列,将其推导氨基酸序列与GenBank中已登录的梨S基因的序列进行比对.结果表明:469 bp序列与已登录梨的S16-RNase基因完全一致,确定‘龙香'的1个等位基因为梨S16基因;653 bp序列与梨S基因的相似性在75%～90%之间,且在高变区存在6个以上氨基酸的差异,近一步分析确定为1条新的梨S基因,命名为S42-RNase基因,该基因在GenBank的登录号为:EF088497.确定秋子梨品种‘龙香'的S基因型为S16S42.     

Genetic relationships of pear cultivars in Xinjiang,China, as measured by RAPD markers

Summary

Thirteen native pear species have been identified in China, of which P. armeniacaefolia Yu and P. sinkiangensis Yu are specific to Xinjiang. P. armeniacaefolia grows wild and a few cultivars have been assigned to this species. Cultivars of P. sinkiangensis have been suspected to be of hybrid origin involving P. communis L. and P. bretschneideri Rehd. In this study, traditional pear cultivars in Xinjiang were evaluated using RAPD markers and compared with representatives of Occidental pear species, cultivars of P. communis and East Asian pear accessions. The combination of 72 pear accessions and 20 selected primers produced 231 scorable polymorphic RAPD bands, of which some were specific to certain species. Five main groups of pear accessions could be distinguished from UPGMA analysis: 1) P. xerophila Yu, its relatives and one cultivar of P. ussuriensis Max., 2) cultivars of P. sinkiangensis, 3) cultivars of P. pyrifolia Nakai and P. bretschneideri, 4) wild Occidental species, cultivars of P. communis and P. armeniacaefolia, and 5) hybrids between P. communis and Chinese or Japanese pear cultivars. The result of PCA generally agrees with that based on UPGMA. Based on RAPD data, some cultivars traditionally classified as P. bretschneideri should be assigned to P. sinkiangensis. Some heirloom cultivars assigned to P. communis were found to be of hybrid origin involving the Chinese white pear (P. bretschneideri) or sand pear (P. pyrifolia). Our results confirmed that P. sinkiangensis is of hybrid origin and at least P. communis, P. armeniacaefolia and Chinese white pears or sand pears have been involved. A further study is needed to understand how pear species and cultivars in Xinjiang are related to those originated from countries in Central Asia.     

梨矮化砧木新品种‘中矮3 号’

 梨矮化砧木‘中矮3号’是从‘锦香’梨实生后代中选育出的。树体矮化紧凑,株高相当于乔化型‘早酥’梨的54%。繁殖系数高。作为梨矮化砧木与基砧和嫁接品种亲和性好,促进嫁接树矮化,早果,早期丰产,果实品质优。抗梨枝干轮纹病和枝干腐烂病,病情指数分别为15和27。适宜在白梨、砂梨、西洋梨及部分秋子梨栽培区域作中间砧应用。     

Comparison of S-RNase,RNase T1, T2, and A effects on growth inhibition and RNA degradation of in vitro-cultured pear pollen

To obtain the basic information on fruit set regulation, effects of several RNases including S-RNase on pollen tube growth and RNA degradation in the tube were studied in the pear. Purified S-RNase from the Japanese pear ‘Kosui’ (S₄S₅) predominantly inhibited the growth of ‘Kosui’ pollen tubes (self) in vitro at 0.28 unit μL⁻¹, but it inhibited ‘Chojuro’ (S₂S₃) pollen (cross) only slightly. The same unit of RNase T₁ (EC 3.1.27.3) clearly inhibited the pollen tube growth, but the action was significantly weaker than that of the S-RNase against the self-pollen. Inhibitory effect of RNase T₂ (EC 3.1.27.1) and RNase A (EC 3.1.27.5) was only slight. The proteins other than the S-RNase extracted from pear style did not have any inhibitory action, though they possessed RNase activity 3.8 times higher than S-RNase. Thus, RNases tested here could not substitute for the S-RNase in specific inhibition against the self-pollen tube growth. Total RNA degradation by each RNase occurred in the pollen tubes as following order; S-RNase (self) ≥T₁ > T₂ ≥ A > S-RNase (cross). Degradation degree of 28S and 18S rRNA was as follows; S-RNase (self) > A > T₁ > T₂ > S-RNase (cross). The degradation of 5.8S and 5S rRNA was; S-RNase (self) > S-RNase (cross) > A > T₂ > T_1. The degree of rRNA degradation was, thus, not always in parallel with the degree of pollen growth inhibition. The S-RNase may degrade not only rRNA but also mRNA essential for pollen tube growth, and may be specifically adapted to inhibit the growth of self-pollen tubes. Therefore, controlling S-RNase amount in the style will produce self-thinning cultivars efficiently, which are unnecessary not only for hand-pollination but fruit-thinning practices in the pear. Practically, cultivar with weak self-incompatibility and small amount of S-RNase, such as ‘Okusankichi’, may be an expecting candidate for breeding self-thinning cultivars.     

In vitro colchicine-induced polyploid plantlet production and regeneration from leaf explants of the diploid pear (Pyrus communis L.) cultivar, ‘Fertility’

Summary

Polyploid plantlets, including triploid, tetraploid, and mixoploid, were induced from the European pear (Pyrus communis L.) cultivar ‘Fertility’ by in vitro colchicine treatment of leaf explants. The leaf explants were incubated in 0.4% (w/v) colchicine for 24, 48, or 72 h, then transferred to adventitious shoot-induction medium. Regenerated shoots were pre-selected according to their morphological characteristics when compared to control shoots from untreated shoot proliferation cultures. Shoots with putative polyploid morphological characteristics were maintained and proliferated. The ploidy levels of all putative polyploid individuals were analysed by flow cytometry and identified by chromosome counts of shoot tip tissue squashes. Polyploid shoots were rooted, and the resulting plantlets were transferred to the field. Polyploid plantlets had a higher specific leaf mass and larger stomata than those of diploid plantlets.     

‘鸭梨’芽变‘闫庄梨’自交亲和性分子机制初步研究

 通过‘鸭梨’（S₂₁S₃₄）及其芽变‘闫庄梨’自花授粉和相互授粉结实率和种子数调查发现,‘鸭梨’自花授粉结实率为9.1%,果实平均种子数为0,表现自交不亲和性;‘闫庄梨’自花授粉结实率为56.9%,果实平均种子数为8.64,表现自交亲和性;以‘闫庄梨’为母本,‘鸭梨’为父本,授粉结实率为39.3%,果实平均种子数为3.36,也表现亲和性,而以‘鸭梨’为母本,‘闫庄梨’为父本,授粉结实率仅为2.0%,果实平均种子数为0粒,表现不亲和性。因此,初步推断‘闫庄梨’自交亲和性可能是由于花柱突变所致。利用S₂₁和S₃₄等位基因特异性引物对‘闫庄梨’自交后代S-RNase基因型进行鉴定,结果发现S₂₁在所有后代中均有扩增条带,进一步证明‘闫庄梨’花柱S₂₁等位基因及其编码产物可能发生了突变。蛋白质印迹杂交分析结果表明,‘闫庄梨’花柱S-RNase缺失了一条带,而没有缺失的条带蛋白含量也比‘鸭梨’低。由此初步证明‘闫庄梨’的自交亲和性可能是由于花柱S-RNase的突变和表达量低所致。     

秋子梨等九个品种S基因型的鉴定

根据梨S基因高度保守区设计兼并引物,对各秋子梨品种的基因组进行S基因特异性扩增、连接、转化并测序,GenBank中比较后确定各品种的S基因型.9个供试品种的S基因型分别为:秋子梨中的'寒香'为S36Sx,'苹香'为S1S31,'南果梨'为S34S34,'金香水'为S1Si,'延边大香水'为S31S36,'寒红'为S27S34,'小香水'为S29S34,'花盖王'为S31S31S34S34,白梨中的'锦丰'为S19S34.     

Molecular characterization and genetic relationship among almond cultivars assessed by RAPD and SSR markers

RAPDs and SSRs were used to study the genetic diversity of Iranian almond cultivars and their relationship to important foreign cultivars and three related species. Eight unidentified almond Shahrodi cultivars and three wild almonds (Prunus communis, Prunus orientalis and Prunus scoparia) were also included. Of the primers tested, 42 (out of 80) RAPD and 18 (out of 26) SSR primers were selected for their reproducibility and high polymorphism. A total of 664 polymorphic RAPD bands were detected out of 729 bands. The number of presumed alleles revealed by the SSR analysis ranged from 3 to 10 alleles per locus with a mean value of 6.64 alleles per locus. Both techniques discriminated the genotypes very effectively, but only RAPDs were able to discriminate the cultivars Monagha and Sefied. Results demonstrated an extensive genetic variability within the tested cultivars as well as the value of SSR markers developed in peach for characterization of almond and related species of Prunus. Dice similarity coefficient was calculated for all pair wise comparisons and was used to construct a UPGMA dendrogram. For both markers a high similarity in dendrogram topologies was obtained although some differences were observed. All dendrograms, including that obtained by the combined use of both the marker data, depicted the phenetic relationships among the cultivars and species, depending upon their geographic region and/or pedigree information. Almond cultivars clustered with accession of P. communis showing their close relationship. P. orientalis and P. scoparia were clustered out of the rest of P. dulcis.