Olive (Olea europaea L.) is a wind-pollinated, allogamous species that is generally not considered to be self-compatible. In addition, cross-incompatibilities exist between cultivars that can result in low fruit set if compatible pollinisers are not planted nearby. In this study, microsatellite markers were used to identify 17 genotypes that were potential pollen donors in a commercial olive orchard. DNA typing with the same primers was also applied to 800 olive embryos collected from five cultivars in the grove over 2 years of study. Pollen donors for the cultivars Barnea, Corregiola, Kalamata, Koroneiki, and Mission were estimated by paternity analysis, based on the parental contribution of alleles in the genotypes of the embryos. The exclusion probability for the marker set was 0.998 and paternity was assigned on the basis of the 'most likely method'. Different pollen donors were identified for each of the maternal cultivars indicating that cross-compatibilities and incompatibilities varied between the genotypes studied. Cross-pollination was the principal method of fertilization, as selfing was only observed in two of the embryos studied and both of these were from the cultivar Mission. This is the first report where these techniques have been applied to survey the pollination patterns in an olive grove. The results indicate that careful planning in orchard design is required for efficient pollination between olive cultivars.

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The secondary metabolite amygdalin is a cyanogenic diglucoside that at high concentrations is associated with intense bitterness in seeds of the Rosaceae, including kernels of almond (Prunus dulcis (Mill.), syn. Prunus amygdalus D. A. Webb Batsch). Amygdalin is a glucoside of prunasin, itself a glucoside of R-mandelonitrile (a cyanohydrin). Here we report the isolation of an almond enzyme (UGT85A19) that stereo-selectively glucosylates R-mandelonitrile to produce prunasin. In a survey of developing kernels from seven bitter and 11 non-bitter genotypes with polyclonal antibody raised to UGT85A19, the enzyme was found to accumulate to higher levels in the bitter types in later development. This differential accumulation of UGT85A19 is associated with more than three-fold greater mandelonitrile glucosyltransferase activity in bitter kernels compared with non-bitter types, and transcriptional regulation was demonstrated using quantitative-PCR analysis. UGT85A19 and its encoding transcript were most concentrated in the testa (seed coat) of the kernel compared with the embryo, and prunasin and amygdalin were differentially compartmentalised in these tissues. Prunasin was confined to the testa and amygdalin was confined to the embryo. These results are consistent with the seed coat being an important site of synthesis of prunasin as a precursor of amygdalin accumulation in the kernel. The presence of UGT85A19 in the kernel and other tissues of both bitter and non-bitter types indicates that its expression is unlikely to be a control point for amygdalin accumulation and suggests additional roles for the enzyme in almond metabolism.

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l h e sucrose (Suc) synthase enzyme purified from barley (Hordeum vulgare 1.) roots is a homotetramer that is composed of 90-kD type 1 SUC synthase (SS1) subunits. K, values for SUC and U D P were 30 mM and 5 p~, respectively. This enzyme can also utilize ADP at 25% of the U D P rate. Anti-SS1 polyclonal antibodies, which recognized both SSl and type 2 SUC synthase (SS2) (88-kD) subunits, and antibodies raised against a synthetic peptide, LANCSTDNNFV, which were specific for SS2, were used to study the spatial distribution of these subunits by immunoblot analysis and immunolocalization. Both SSl and SS2 were abundantly expressed in endosperm, where they polymerize to form the five possible homo-and heterotetramers. Only SS1 homotetramers were detected in young leaves, where they appeared exclusively in phloem cells, and in roots, where expression was associated with cap cells and the vascular bundle. In the seed both SS1 and SS2 were present in endosperm, but only SS1 was apparent in the chalazal region, the nucellar projection, and the vascular bundle. The physiological implications for the difference in expression patterns observed are discussed with respect to the maize (Zea mays 1.) model.

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Pollen tube observation was used to assess the self-and cross-incompatibility of the olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivars 'Frantoio', 'Koroneiki' and 'Kalamata'. The pistils were harvested 1 week after hand pollination and stained with 0.1% aniline blue. The styles and ovules were separated, mounted in 80% glycerol and observed under a fluorescence microscope. All the cultivars studied were self-incompatible. 'Frantoio' (as a host) was incompatible with 'Koroneiki' and 'Barnea' but partially compatible with 'Mission'. 'Koroneiki' (as a host) was incompatible with 'Barnea' but partially compatible with 'Frantoio' and 'Mission'. 'Kalamata' (as a host) was compatible with 'Barnea', incompatible with 'Mission' and 'Koroneiki' in 2004, but partially compatible with them in 2005. The effects of shoot orientation and inflorescence location on inflorescence characteristics were also studied. For each cultivar, inflorescence characteristics in three sections of shoots (top, middle and base) and four sides of the three selected trees (north, south, east and west) were recorded. The statistical analysis showed that basal inflorescences were shorter and with fewer flowers but with the same percentage of perfect flowers. Shoot orientation did not have any influence on these characteristics in any of the cultivars.