Pollen-pistil interaction in pawpaw (Asimina triloba), the northernmost species of the mainly tropical family Annonaceae.

Am J Bot. 2017 Dec;104(12):1891-1903. doi: 10.3732/ajb.1700319. Epub 2017 Dec 7. Losada JM1,2,3, Hormaza JI4, Lora J5. Author information 1 Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 1300 Centre Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02131 USA. 2 Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 USA. 3 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, 80 Waterman Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912 USA. 4 Department of Subtropical Fruit Crops, Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea "La Mayora" (IHSM La Mayora-UMA-CSIC) 29750 Algarrobo-Costa, Málaga, Spain. 5 Department of Subtropical Fruit Crops, Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea "La Mayora" (IHSM La Mayora-UMA-CSIC) 29750 Algarrobo-Costa, Málaga, Spain jlora@eelm.csic.es. Abstract PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The pawpaw, Asimina triloba, is an underutilized fruit crop native to North America that belongs to the mainly tropical, early-divergent family Annonaceae. Asimina is the only genus within the Annonaceae with species adapted to cold climates. A thorough analysis of its reproductive biology, specifically pollen-pistil interaction during the progamic phase, is essential to understand both its adaptation to cold climates and how to optimize its fertilization and fruit set. METHODS: We characterized pollen-pistil interaction in Asimina triloba, including the floral cycle and anatomy, stigmatic receptivity, and the pollen tube pathway. We used a combination of histological, cytological, and immunolocalization approaches. KEY RESULTS: Asimina triloba has a gynoecium formed by plicate carpels with a short stylar canal. Unicellular papillae form a continuous tissue covered by a copious secretion from the stigma to the ovary, which is most prominent on the stigma surface where it forms an extragynoecial compitum. Compared to the stigmas of other species in the Annonaceae, the stigmas of A. triloba show a long stigmatic receptivity associated with a long flowering cycle. Stigmatic receptivity is concomitant with the secretion of cell-wall-related arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs). CONCLUSIONS: A long female phase with a long period of stigmatic receptivity is unusual among protogynous flowers of the magnoliid clade, suggesting a derived condition of A. triloba within the Annonaceae. This phase further correlates with the presence of cell-wall-related arabinogalactan proteins in the secretion, which may indicate the conservation of these glycoproteins during stigmatic receptivity and pollen tube growth in angiosperms. © 2017 Botanical Society of America. KEYWORDS: AGPs; Annonaceae; Asimina triloba; arabinogalactan proteins; long flowering cycle; magnoliid; pawpaw; pollen tube; protogyny; stigmatic receptivity PMID: 29217674 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1700319 [Indexed for MEDLINE]