The molecular basis of self-incompatibility and stylar dimorphism in Linum grandiflorum

• Applicant: Dr. Hanna Levchuk, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Plant Genetics and Genomics ; Plant Cell and Developmental Biology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 531401928

Since the seminal studies of Darwin, the genus Linum has been used to address questions about the function, evolution, and genetics of heterostyly and stylar polimorphism in general. Of particular interest are intermediate forms of heterostyly, such as stigma height dimorphism, which can represent an intermediate step in the evolution to either full heterostyly or to homostyly. Therefore, as the single Linum species with a dimorphism in style length, L. grandiflorum is of particular interest. The aims of the project relate to little-studied issues in plant reproductive biology, especially the molecular basis of post-zygotic self-incompatibility and the impact of stigma height dimorphism on realized mating patterns. This project will shed new light on the genetic control, evolution, and function of stigma height dimorphism and elucidate the molecular basis of postzygotic self-incompatibility, which should ultimately allow the development of a method for creating interspecific hybrids with cultivated flax with new properties.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position