Evolution of mating systems in the Brassicaceae. The SI system in the genus Diplotaxis

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Herbert Hurka
• Subject Area: Evolution and Systematics of Plants and Fungi
• Term: from 2006 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 29816085

Major objectives of the research programme are the evolution of the self-incompatibility mating system (SI) in the Brassicaceae, and the question of origin and age of self-compatible (SC) species. Present knowledge of the SI system at the molecular level within the genera Brassica, Arabidopsis, and Capsella opens such an evolutionary approach. There is urgent need to analyse more wild species to uncover the evolutionary pathways of the SI system within the family. Analyses of natural populations are necessary to understand the ecological functions of the SI system. The present study concentrates on the genus Diplotaxis, a close relative to Brassica. The aims are (i) to identify the S-domain of the SRK-gene, and to characterise S-alleles in natural populations of the SI species Diplotaxis tenuifolia and its close SC derivative species D. creatacea; (ii) to establish linkage of S-genotypes to S-phenotypes; (iii) to analyse interactions between S-alleles; (iv) to explore the genetic events which caused the transition from SI to SC in D. cretacea; and (v) to study relationships between the loss of SI and actual outcrossing in natural populations of D. cretacea.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Dr. Barbara Neuffer