Gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI) is an outcrossing mechanism in flowering plants that is genetically controlled by 2 separate genes located at the highly polymorphic S-locus, termed S-haplotype. This study characterizes a pollen part mutant of the S(1)-haplotype present in sour cherry (Rosaceae, Prunus cerasus L.) that contributes to the loss of GSI. Inheritance of S-haplotypes from reci...

Recently, an S haplotype-specific F-box (SFB) gene has been proposed as a candidate for the pollen-S specificity gene of RNase-mediated gametophytic self-incompatibility in Prunus (Rosaceae). We have examined two pollen-part mutant haplotypes of sweet cherry (Prunus avium). Both were found to retain the S-RNase, which determines stylar specificity, but one (S3' in JI 2434) has a deletion includ...

Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) is able to infect a number of herbaceous and woody hosts, such as grapevine, Citrus or Prunus plants. Previous phylogenetic analyses have suggested the existence of three major groups of HSVd isolates (plum-type, hop-type and citrus-type). The fact that these groups often contain isolates from only a limited number of isolation hosts prompted the suggestion that group-di...

Flowering is an essential stage of plant growth and development. The successful transition to flowering not only ensures the completion of plant life cycles, it also serves as the basis for the production of economically important seeds and fruits. CONSTANS (CO) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) are two genes playing critical roles in flowering time control in Arabidopsis. Through homology-based cloni...

Development, imaginal survivorship, adult longevity and fecundity of the predatory phytoseiid mite Euseius (Amblyseius) finlandicus Oudemans reared on seven different plant pollens were determined in the laboratory. The rationale behind these experiments was to assess the nutritional value and the possible effect on development and population dynamics of the mite. Mites were kept individually o...

RNA silencing is a powerful technology for molecular characterization of gene functions in plants. A commonly used approach to the induction of RNA silencing is through genetic transformation. A potent alternative is to use a modified viral vector for virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) to degrade RNA molecules sharing similar nucleotide sequence. Unfortunately, genomic studies in many allogamo...

The anatomy of Prunus dulcis was analyzed by applying several differential staining techniques and light microscopy. Prunus dulcis seed has a thin and structurally complex seed coat, with lignified cellulosic tissue. The embryo has two voluminous cotyledons. Cotyledon cells have a high number of protein and lipid bodies, some of which have phytin. The provascular tissue, located in the cotyledo...

Ten SSR loci, previously developed for Prunus, were analyzed to examine genetic relationships among 23 rootstock candidates for sweet and sour cherries, of the species P. avium, P. cerasus, P. mahaleb, and P. angustifolia. Five genotypes of P. laurocerasus, not used as rootstock, were included in the molecular analysis. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 8 to 12, with a mean of 9, whil...

Cherry laurel (Laurocerasus officinalis Roemer Syn: Prunus laurocerasus L.) is a perennial wild fruit plant that is widely distributed in and around South-Eastern Black Sea, Marmara Sea, the Caspian Sea in the North and the East. However, breeding success of cherry laurel depends on early harvest, transient differences in taste, fruit color and flavor due to large number of biotic and abiotic s...

FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) proteins share highly conserved amino acid residues but they play opposite regulatory roles in promoting and repressing the flowering response, respectively. Previous substitution models and functional analysis have identified several key amino acid residues which are critical for the promotion of flowering. However, the precise relationship be...