The search of genetic resources for parthenocarpic pears and comparison of gene expression between high and low parthenocarpy cultivars

ABSTRACT: Parthenocarpy—the production of seedless fruits without fertilization—is very useful for fruit cultivation. Among pear cultivars (Japanese, Chinese, and European pears and their interspecific hybrids) subjected to flower emasculation and left unpollinated, only some of the European pears had a stable and high degree of fruit set and fruit enlargement. Almost all the enlarged fruits formed no seeds. Comparison of fruits produced by using emasculation without pollination or with self-pollination ruled out the possibility of stenospermocarpy in these parthenocarpic pears. The results suggested that the abovementioned characteristics were inherited maternally by the next generation and that it should be possible to introduce parthenocarpy into Japanese pears. Neither Chinese nor Japanese pears treated with emasculation and no pollination showed consistently stable fruit set or fruit enlargement. In Chinese pears, these characteristics varied greatly from year to year, and in Japanese pears they were stable but weak. Although in each cultivar highly parthenocarpic fruits weighed slightly less than cross-pollinated ones, the cortexes of the emasculated fruits were enlarged and the fruits were not greatly inferior to those of cross-pollinated ones. By using a customized pear cDNA microarray, we compared the gene expression profiles of highly and weakly parthenocarpic cultivars before flowering. Expression of several phenylpropanoid-related genes and photosystem-related genes differed significantly between the two groups. Some of these genes were contained in the chloroplast genome. These results showed the unique mechanism of genetic parthenocarpy in pome fruits as opposed to non-pome fruits.

ORGANISM(S): Pyrus hybrid cultivar Pyrus pyrifolia Pyrus communis x Pyrus pyrifolia Pyrus communis

PROVIDER: GSE27090 | GEO | 2012/01/10

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA137459

REPOSITORIES: GEO