Unfertilized ovary pushes wheat flower open for cross-pollination

Takashi Okada; J E A Ridma M Jayasinghe; Moureen Nansamba; Mathieu Baes; Patricia Warner; Allan Kouidri; David Correia; Vy Nguyen; Ryan Whitford; Ute Baumann

doi:10.1093/jxb/erx410

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Unfertilized ovary pushes wheat flower open for cross-pollination

Journal article

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Unfertilized ovary pushes wheat flower open for cross-pollination

Takashi Okada, J E A Ridma M Jayasinghe, Moureen Nansamba, Mathieu Baes, Patricia Warner, Allan Kouidri, David Correia, Vy Nguyen, Ryan Whitford and Ute Baumann

Journal of experimental botany, Vol.69(3), pp.399-412

2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erx410

PMID: 29202197

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Abstract

Fertilization

Flowers - physiology

Pollination - physiology

Triticum - physiology

Bread wheat is strongly autogamous; however, an opportunity for outcrossing occurs when self-pollination fails and florets open. The first phase of floret opening at anthesis is short and induced by lodicule turgidity. Some wheat florets re-open post-anthesis for several days, known as the 'second opening', for which the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. We performed detailed physiological, anatomical, and histological investigations to understand the biological basis of the flower opening process. Wheat florets were observed open when the ovary was unfertilized. Unfertilized ovaries significantly increased in radial size post-anthesis, pushing the lemma and palea apart to open the florets. The absence of fertile pollen was not directly linked to this, but anther filament elongation coincided with initiation of ovary swelling. The pericarp of unfertilized ovaries did not undergo degeneration as normally seen in developing grains, instead pericarp cells remained intact and enlarged, leading to increased ovary radial size. This is a novel role for the ovary pericarp in wheat flower opening, and the knowledge is useful for facilitating cross-pollination in hybrid breeding. Ovary swelling may represent a survival mechanism in autogamous cereals such as wheat and barley, ensuring seed set in the absence of self-fertilization and increasing genetic diversity through cross-pollination.

Details

Title: Unfertilized ovary pushes wheat flower open for cross-pollination
Authors/Creators: Takashi Okada - The University of Adelaide
J E A Ridma M Jayasinghe - Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics
Moureen Nansamba - Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics
Mathieu Baes - The University of Adelaide
Patricia Warner - Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics
Allan Kouidri - The University of Adelaide
David Correia - School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Plant Genomics Centre, Hartley Grove, Urrbrae, SA, Australia
Vy Nguyen - Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics
Ryan Whitford - Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics
Ute Baumann - The University of Adelaide
Publication Details: Journal of experimental botany, Vol.69(3), pp.399-412
Publisher: Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.
Number of pages: 14
Identifiers: 991005779528807891
Murdoch Affiliation: Centre for Crop and Food Innovation
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.4 Crop Science; 3.4.96 QTL
Web Of Science research areas: Plant Sciences
ESI research areas: Plant & Animal Science