f
Biologists
ITHACA, N.Y. Familiarity
breeds contempt. Nonfamiliarity
produces seed.
Just as humans have a natural
aversion toward marrying kin,
some food crop plants have genes
that allow them to avoid being
fertilized by “self-related” pollen.
Now Cornell University’s biolo
gists have solved one more piece
of the puzzle of how plants’ self
incompatibility works oh the mo
lecular level.
The discovery, as reported in
the journal Science (Sept 7,
2001), could enable genetic engi
neers to short-circuit the repro
duction process and more easily
hybridize improved varieties of
plants.
Many commercial crops are
genetic hybrids. Obtaining seed
to plant commercial quantities of
these crops, such as tomatoes, for
example, requires the labor-inten
sive work of manual crossing.
Without the process of manual
crossing, the plants would not
have the desired qualities of hy
brids. But nature has come up
with an efficient system for mak
ing hybrid seed, which, when un
derstood at tiie molecular level,
can have applications on a com
mercial scale. This process,
termed self-incompatibility, '‘pre
vents inbreeding and promotes
out-crossing and variability in
Ornamental Plant Disease
• COLUMBUS, Ohio • An orna
mental plant disease, first diag
nosed in Ohio recently, can pose
a serious threat to daylilies.
Daylily rust, caused by a rust
fungus of the Puccinia species,
has been reported in Franklin
and Cuyahoga counties. First re
ported in the southeastern ;U.S.
last year, it also exists in Ken
tucky, Indiana, and other mid
western states, and poses poten
tial problems for nursery,
greenhouse and garden growers.
“Daylily rust is a pretty serious
disease,” said Steve Nameth, an
Ohio State University plant pa
thologist. “In Florida, if the dis
ease is found in a greenhouse,
that greenhouse is immediately
Email:
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plants,” says June Nasrallah,
Cornell professor of plant biolo
gy, and the lead author on the
Science paper.
In addition to Nasrallah, co
authors of “Allele-Specific Re
ceptor-Ligand Interactions in
Brassica Self-Incompatibility” in
clude Mikhail Nasrallah, Cornell
professor of plant biology; Aar
dra Kachroo, Cornell postdoctor
al researcher in plant biology;
and Christel R. Schopfer, a for
mer Cornell postdoctoral re
searcher who now conducts re
search in Germany. Funding for
the research was provided by a
four-year grant from the Nation
al Institutes of Health for the
purpose of understanding cellu
lar communication systems. The
Nasrallah group examined the re
productive processes of Brassica
plants. Like humans' and animal
species, plants use eggs and
sperm in order to make seed and
multiply. On the plant’s pistil is
the stigma, which is the site for
capturing pollen. Pollen, which
carries the male sperm, is re
leased by stamens and is carried
by wind or insects, and it is
drawn to a plant’s stigma.
If genetically unrelated (non
matching) pollen lands on the
stigma, file pollen germinates
and produces a pollen tube that
then runs through the plant’s pis
til and into the plant’s ovaries.
quarantined. The ODA (Ohio Dc- In addition, it can not only ger
partment of Agriculture) hasn’t minate on its host plant, but can
made any quarantine decisions as also produce spores via a second
of yet, but we are following the ary host a weed of ttxPatrinia
situation closely to see what will species, which is also grown as a
ha JPP en *” perennial. The presence of a sec-
The disease germinates on ondary host increases the severity
dajifly leaves, producing lesions of infection. Six species of Pat
that leaf tfiefoack. Since rinia arc sold and grown in the
photosynthesis, the process of u.S. as ornamentals
how the plant obtains food, is ...., . . . ...
conducted through the leaves. Since httie ui known about the
limited number of leaves on the ***** “ lts b,ol J °By>
plant reduces its chances of sur- * reproduces, and what is needed
viving through winter. The dis- “jr it to survive - Nameth and
ease spreads easily from plant to OSU plant pathologist Mac Rie
plant via spores carried by wind- del will team up with Pat Henley,
driven rain and has a short incu- a daylily expert formerly with
bation period, infecting leaves ODA, to conduct variety and
two to three days after inocula- fungicide studies beginning in
tion. September.
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Fertilized eggs then develop into
seed ready to be grown in a gar
den or a producer’s field.
However, if “self-related” pol
len lands on the stigma, the stig
ma’s outer (epidermal) layer ge
netically recognizes the type of
pollen and precipitates a self-in
compatible reaction that inhibits
the pollen tubes from growing.
The Cornell group found that
pollen recognition is based on
highly specific lock-and-key in
teractions between receptors (the
lock) on the stigma surface and
ligands (the key) on the pollen
surface. “If the pollen is match
ing kin, the receptor on the stig
ma is activated to prevent pollen
tube growth,” said Kachroo. “If
the pollen is nonmatching, the re
ceptor is not activated and pollen
tubes can grow.”
With this revelation, scientists
are one step closer to understand
ing the reproductive barriers of
flowering plants and their evolu
tion. “The potential is to finally
grasp at the molecular level
which genes are needed for pol
len rejection,” said Mikhail Nas
rallah. “The ability to silence,
mutate and transfer the genes
that control the self-incompatibil
ity barrier could be a boon to
breeders. Even self-fertilizing
crops like tomatoes and rice can
benefit from increased genetic
variability.”
New To Ohio Poses Threat
2002 Pork Checkoff
Budget Approved By Board
DBS MOINES, lowa The
members of the National Pork
Board have approved plans for
spending $55.6 million in check
off-funded programming in 2002.
Of that, $45.8 million is for pro
gramming determined at the na
tional level and $9.8 million will
be returned to states for local
checkoff-funded programs.
“Throughout the eight-month
budgeting process, pork produc
ers volunteered their time to
share ideas and work with indus
try experts to determine the most
efficient and effective ways to in
crease demand for pork in the
U.S., increase exports, and to
communicate those checkoff
funded programs with pork pro
ducers and others,” explains
Marlin Pankratz, a pork produc
er from Mt. Lake, Minn., and
chairman of the National Pork
Board Plan of Work/Budget
Task Force. “Pork producers in
vest in the pork checkoff and di
rect how those funds will be used.
Changes in overall spending tar
gets for 2002 as compared to
2001 include pork producers’
changing priorities.”
Pork producers on the Plan of
Work/Budget Task Force, includ
ing seven board members and
five other pork producers, recom
mended increased expenses for
programs related to biosecurity,
“We will study multiple variet
ies to see which ones show the
most resistance to the disease.
Pat has literally hundreds of vari
eties that we can use for the proj
ect,” said Nameth. “We will also
study which fungicides have the
most impact on the disease.
There are no fungicides on the
market that are labeled specif
ically for rust on daylilies.”
Nameth speculates that the
wet spring aided in the develop
ment of the disease, which may
have found its way to Ohio via
transport of infected plant mater
ial. Growers concerned about the
disease infecting their daylilies
should cut the plants back to two
to three inches above the ground,
said Nameth.
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xS^KW^Sar« < sf<¥’‘
animal welfare and communica
tions. The National Pork Board
approved these recommendations
during a meeting in Des Moines.
In other areas, funding for specif
ic projects increased or decreased
while the overall budget was
stable. The 2002 pork checkoff
budget is based on expectations
for checkoff revenue of $49.1 mil
lion and expenses of $55.6 mil
lion, for a deficit of $6.5 million.
Overall for 2002, ihe producer
leaders of the National Pork
Board and state associations di
rected 59 percent of the checkoff
funds be directed to promotion,
27 percent to research and 14
percent to consumer information.
Nationally, the Board directed
65 percent of checkoff pro
gramming for promotion, 28 per
cent research and 7 percent con
sumer information. At the state
level, 40 percent of the checkoff
programming is for consumer in
formation, 37 percent promotion
and 23 percent research.
The approval of the plan and
budget by the volunteer producer
members was the final step for
the National Pork Board in the
checkoff budget process, which
began in the spring. Now the
USDA must approve the budget,
which is expected to occur in De
cember.
To Daylilies
The disease is characterized by
a rusty spore mass that streaks
along the leaf veins. Any leaves
found with the disease should be
removed from the plant and dis
posed of either through burning
or placed in lawn bags and dis
carded.
“We are not recommending
that people use the infected
leaves as compost,” said Nameth.
“Also, prevent as much overhead
watering as possible. Spores need
moisture to germinate. If need be,
water in the morning rather than
at night so that the water has a
chance to evaporate. If spores
penetrate the leaves in damp con
ditions overnight, the plants will
be infected by the next morning.”
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