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Electrostatic potentials of the S ‐locus F‐box proteins contribute to the pollen S specificity in self‐incompatibility in Petunia hybrida
Author(s) -
Li Junhui,
Zhang Yue,
Song Yanzhai,
Zhang Hui,
Fan Jiangbo,
Li Qun,
Zhang Dongfen,
Xue Yongbiao
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the plant journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.058
H-Index - 269
eISSN - 1365-313X
pISSN - 0960-7412
DOI - 10.1111/tpj.13318
Subject(s) - petunia , biology , pollen , locus (genetics) , genetics , gynoecium , cytosol , solanaceae , botany , gene , biochemistry , stamen , enzyme
Summary Self‐incompatibility ( SI ) is a self/non‐self discrimination system found widely in angiosperms and, in many species, is controlled by a single polymorphic S ‐locus. In the Solanaceae, Rosaceae and Plantaginaceae, the S ‐locus encodes a single S‐ RN ase and a cluster of S ‐locus F‐box ( SLF ) proteins to control the pistil and pollen expression of SI , respectively. Previous studies have shown that their cytosolic interactions determine their recognition specificity, but the physical force between their interactions remains unclear. In this study, we show that the electrostatic potentials of SLF contribute to the pollen S specificity through a physical mechanism of ‘like charges repel and unlike charges attract’ between SLF s and S‐ RN ases in Petunia hybrida . Strikingly, the alteration of a single C‐terminal amino acid of SLF reversed its surface electrostatic potentials and subsequently the pollen S specificity. Collectively, our results reveal that the electrostatic potentials act as a major physical force between cytosolic SLF s and S‐ RN ases, providing a mechanistic insight into the self/non‐self discrimination between cytosolic proteins in angiosperms.