Identification of S-genotypes and novel S-RNase alleles in Japanese apricot cultivars native to China

Information on S-genotypes is essential for designing orchards of Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) and for hybridization. However, this information is lacking for most cultivars grown in China. Thus, in this work, the S-genotypes of 24 Japanese apricot cultivars native to China were identified by sequencing the PCR products obtained from allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR). Seventeen S-RNase alleles were amplified, ten of them for the first time. The new S-RNase alleles were submitted to GenBank and denoted them as S¹⁷, S¹⁸, S¹⁹, S²⁰, S²¹, S²², S²³, S²⁴, S²⁵ and S²⁶. Furthermore, the S-genotypes of four Japanese apricot cultivars were confirmed by field-testing cross-pollination.