Abstract
SELF-INCOMPATIBILITY in flowering plants is often controlled by a single nuclear gene (the S-gene) having several alleles1. This gene prevents fertilization by self-pollen or by pollen bearing either of the two S- alleles expressed in the style. Sequence analysis shows that three alleles of the S gene of Nicotiana alata encode style glycoproteins2,3 with regions of defined homology. Two of the homologous regions also show precise homology with ribonucleases T2 (ref. 4) and Rh (ref. 5). We report here that glycoproteins corresponding to the S1, S2, S3, S6 and S7 alleles isolated from style extracts of N. alata6 are ribonucleases. These style S-gene-encoded glycoproteins account for most of the ribonuclease activity recovered from style extracts. The ribonuclease specific activity of style extracts of the self-incompatible species N. alata is 100–1,000-fold higher than that of the related self-compatible species N. tabacum. These observations implicate ribonuclease activity in the mechanism of gametophytic self-incompatibility.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
de Nettancourt, D. in Monographs on Theoretical and Applied Genetics (eds Frankel, R., Gall, G. A. E. & Linskens, H. F.) (Springer, Berlin, 1977).
Anderson, M. A. et al. Nature 321, 38–44 (1986).
Anderson, M. A. et al. Pl. Cell 1, 483–491 (1989).
Kawata, Y. et al. Eur. J. Biochem. 176, 683–697 (1988).
Horiuchi, H. et al. J. Biochem. 103, 408–418 (1988).
Jahnen, W. et al. Pl. Cell 1, 493–499 (1989).
Jahnen, W. et al. Pl. Cell 1, 501–510 (1989).
Brown, P. B. & Ho, T. H. D., Pl. Physiol. 82, 801–806 (1986).
Cornish, E. C. et al. Nature 326, 99–102 (1987).
Bradford, M. M. Analyt. Biochem. 72, 248–254 (1976).
Higgins, D. G. & Sharp, P. M. Gene 73, 237–244 (1988).
Dayhoff, M, O. Meth. Enzym. 91, 524–545 (1983).
Maniatis, T., Fritsch, E. F. & Sambrook, J. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, 1982).
Wallace D. M. Meth. Enzym. 154, 41–48 (1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McClure, B., Haring, V., Ebert, P. et al. Style self-incompatibility gene products of Nicotlana alata are ribonucleases. Nature 342, 955–957 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/342955a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/342955a0
This article is cited by
-
Specific functions of single pistil S-RNases in S-gene homozygous Pyrus germplasm
BMC Plant Biology (2023)
-
Genome-wide screening of the RNase T2 gene family and functional analyses in jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.)
BMC Genomics (2023)
-
Patterns of Diversity of the S and M Loci in Tunisian Apricots (Prunus armeniaca L.): Identification of Pollen-Part Mutations Conferring Self-Compatibility
Plant Molecular Biology Reporter (2023)
-
Genetics Behind Sexual Incompatibility in Plants: How Much We Know and What More to Uncover?
Journal of Plant Growth Regulation (2023)
-
Genetically-biased fertilization in APOBEC1 complementation factor (A1cf) mutant mice
Scientific Reports (2022)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.