Effect of pollination and fertilization on the expression of genes related to floral transition, hormone synthesis and berry development in grapevine

Patricia Dauelsberg, José Tomás Matus, María Josefina Poupin, Andrés Leiva-Ampuero, Francisca Godoy, Andrea Vega, Patricio Arce-Johnson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the present work, the effect of assisted fertilization on anatomical, morphological and gene expression changes occurring in carpels and during early stages of berry development in Vitis vinifera were studied. Inflorescences were emasculated before capfall, immediately manually pollinated (EP) and fruit development was compared to emasculated but non-pollinated (ENP) and self-pollinated inflorescences (NESP). The diameter of berries derived from pollinated flowers (EP and NESP) was significantly higher than from non-pollinated flowers (ENP) at 21 days after emasculation/pollination (DAE), and a rapid increase in the size of the inner mesocarp, together with the presence of an embryo-like structure, were observed. The expression of gibberellin oxidases (GA20ox and GA2ox), anthranilate synthase (related to auxin synthesis) and cytokinin synthase coding genes was studied to assess the relationship between hormone synthesis and early berry development, while flower patterning genes were analyzed to describe floral transition. Significant expression changes were found for hormone-related genes, suggesting that their expression at early stages of berry development (13 DAE) is related to cell division and differentiation of mesocarp tissue at a later stage (21 DAE). Expression of hormone-related genes also correlates with the expression of VvHB13, a gene related to mesocarp expansion, and with an increased repression of floral patterning genes (PISTILLATA and TM6), which may contribute to prevent floral transition inhibiting fruit growth before fertilization takes place.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1667-1674
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Plant Physiology
Volume168
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Sep 2011

Keywords

  • ASB1
  • Anthesis
  • Berry flesh
  • Embryo development
  • Flower patterning
  • L1L
  • Parthenocarpy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effect of pollination and fertilization on the expression of genes related to floral transition, hormone synthesis and berry development in grapevine'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this