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Plastid inheritance in Pisum sativum L
N O Polans1, J L Corriveau, A W Coleman
1Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb 60115.
Current Genetics
|December 1, 1990
Summary
Pea plants (P. sativum) generally exhibit maternal inheritance of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA), despite some pollen containing cpDNA. Molecular markers confirm only maternal cpDNA transmission in offspring, refuting biparental inheritance.
Area of Science:
- Plant Genetics
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Variability in chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) levels within pea pollen suggested potential biparental inheritance.
- Previous observations indicated cpDNA presence in the germ cell line of pea pollen.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the possibility of biparental plastid transmission in pea (P. sativum).
- To determine the mode of cpDNA inheritance from parents to F1 offspring using molecular markers.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) markers to track cpDNA transmission.
- Analyzed F1 progeny from crosses involving parents with varying pollen cpDNA levels.
- Examined offspring at early developmental stages.
Main Results:
- All F1 progeny exclusively displayed maternal plastid markers, regardless of paternal pollen cpDNA content.
- High cpDNA levels in paternal pollen did not result in detectable paternal plastid markers in offspring.
- Molecular data strongly supports uniparental-maternal inheritance of cpDNA in P. sativum.
Conclusions:
- Pea (P. sativum) predominantly follows a uniparental-maternal mode of plastid inheritance.
- Pollen cytological data suggesting paternal transmission does not correlate with molecularly confirmed inheritance patterns.
- While trace biparentalism cannot be entirely excluded due to sample size, maternal inheritance is the general rule.