Pollen–pistil interactions and self-incompatibility in the Asteraceae: new insights from studies of Senecio squalidus (Oxford ragwort)

Pollen-pistil interactions are an essential prelude to fertilization in angiosperms and determine compatibility/incompatibility. Pollen-pistil interactions have been studied at a molecular and cellular level in relatively few families. Self-incompatibility (SI) is the best understood pollen-pistil interaction at a molecular level where three different molecular mechanisms have been identified in just five families. Here we review studies of pollen-pistil interactions and SI in the Asteraceae, an important family that has been relatively understudied in these areas of reproductive biology.