Parthenocarpic apple fruit production conferred by transposon insertion mutations in a MADS-box transcription factor

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.98.3.1306
• Publication Date: 2012-07-26T23:06:14Z
• Authors: Jia-Long Yao; Yi-Hu Dong; Bret A. M. Morris
• Keywords: Parthenocarpy; MADS-box; Sepal; Petal; Malus

Fruit development in higher plants normally requires pollination and fertilization to stimulate cell division of specific floral tissues. In some cases, parthenocarpic fruit proceeds without either or fertilization. Parthenocarpic seed has commercial value than seeded fruit. Several apple ( Malus domestica ) mutants (Rae Ime, Spencer Seedless Wellington Bloomless) are known produce only apetalous flowers that readily go on develop into Through genetics, a single recessive gene been identified control this trait apple. Flower phenotypes these strikingly similar those the Arabidopsis mutant pistillata pi ), which produces where petals transformed sepals stamens carpels. study, we have cloned PI homolog MdPI shows 64% amino acid sequence identity closely conserved intron positions mRNA expression patterns . We mutated by retrotransposon insertion 4 case Rae Ime 6 Bloomless. The apparently abolishes normal gene. conclude loss function mutation MADS-box transcription factor confers varieties demonstrates another for MADS- box family. knowledge generated here could be used cultivars through genetic engineering.