title: Electrostatic potentials of the S-locus F-box proteins contribute to the pollen S specificity in self-incompatibility in Petunia hybrida.
abstract: Self-incompatibility (SI) is a self/non-self discrimination system found widely in angiosperms and, in many species, is controlled by a single polymorphic S-locus. In the Solanaceae, Rosaceae and Plantaginaceae, the S-locus encodes a single S-RNase and a cluster of S-locus F-box (SLF) proteins to control the pistil and pollen expression of SI, respectively. Previous studies have shown that their cytosolic interactions determine their recognition specificity, but the physical force between their interactions remains unclear. In this study, we show that the electrostatic potentials of SLF contribute to the pollen S specificity through a physical mechanism of 'like charges repel and unlike charges attract' between SLFs and S-RNases in Petunia hybrida. Strikingly, the alteration of a single C-terminal amino acid of SLF reversed its surface electrostatic potentials and subsequently the pollen S specificity. Collectively, our results reveal that the electrostatic potentials act as a major physical force between cytosolic SLFs and S-RNases, providing a mechanistic insight into the self/non-self discrimination between cytosolic proteins in angiosperms.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
authors: Junhui
authors: J
authors: Li
authors: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
authors: Yue
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
authors: Yanzhai
authors: Y
authors: Song
authors: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
authors: Hui
authors: H
authors: Zhang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
authors: Jiangbo
authors: J
authors: Fan
authors: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors: Qun
authors: Q
authors: Li
authors: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors: Dongfen
authors: D
authors: Zhang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Beijing, 100101, China.|Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
authors: Yongbiao
authors: Y
authors: Xue
mesh_terms: D044783:F-Box Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009154:Mutation; D032306:Petunia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011058:Pollen / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D025821:Polyubiquitin / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D000072417:Protein Domains; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012260:Ribonucleases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D060436:Self-Incompatibility in Flowering Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D044783:F-Box Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D025821:Polyubiquitin; D012260:Ribonucleases; C022542:ribonuclease S
keywords: 
  Petunia hybrida
  ; 
  SLF
  ; S-RNase; electrostatic potentials; pollen S specificity; self-incompatibility