Skip to main content
Log in

Pollen morphology as fertility predictor in hybrid tea roses

  • Published:
Euphytica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fertility of hybrid tea roses is often reduced due to their interspecific origin but also to intensive inbreeding. New genotypes used as pollen donors represent an economic risk for a breeding programme, as their influence on seed production is unknown. In this study 11 cut rose genotypes were selected from a company database as high fertile or low fertile male parents, according to the number of seeds per hybridisation. Pollen morphology and in vitro germination of the selected genotypes were characterised. Pollen was either small (mean diameter <30 μm), shrunken, and irregular (abnormal), or large (mean diameter >30 μm), elliptical and crossed by furrows (normal). High correlations were found between the number of seeds produced per hybridisation and the pollen diameter (r = 0.94) or the percentage of normal pollen (r = 0.96). In order to evaluate the predictive power of the models, we conducted regression analyses and performed a validation experiment on genotypes not present in the database and without background information on fertility. Pollen diameter and percentage of normal pollen were characterised and fitted in the regression models for seed set predictions. Validation with an independent dataset gave a good prediction for 83.3% of the data. This indicates that using either the mean pollen diameter or the percentage of normal pollen resulted in effective fertility prediction. This tool could enhance the genetic variability in crossings between hybrid tea roses, thus creating possibilities for less economically risky exploitation of new tetraploid genotypes as male parents.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Calvino Mameli E (1951) Ricerche sul polline del genere Rosa. Ann Sperim Agr 5:377–407

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole RD (1917) Imperfection of pollen and mutability in the genus Rosa. Bot Gaz 63:110–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crespel L, Gudin S (2003) Evidence for the production of unreduced gametes by tetraploid Rosa hybrida L. Euphytica 133:65–69. doi:10.1023/A:1025640405827

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crespel L, Mouchotte J (2003) Methods of cross-breeding. In: Roberts AV, Debener T, Gudin S (eds) Encyclopedia of rose science, vol 1. Elsevier Academic Press, Oxford, pp 30–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Crespel L, Gudin S, Meynet J, Zhang D (2002) AFLP-based estimation of 2n gametophytic heterozygosity in two parthenogenetically derived dihaploids of Rosa hybrida L. Theor Appl Genet 104:451–456

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crespel L, Ricci S, Gudin S (2006) The production of 2n pollen in rose. Euphytica 151:155–164. doi:10.1007/s10681-006-9136-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cruden RW (2009) Pollen grain size, stigma depth, and style length: the relationships revisited. Plant Syst Evol 278:223–238. doi:10.1007/s00606-008-0142-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darlington CD (1937) Recent advances in cytology, 2nd edn. P. Blakinston’s son and Co, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Darwin C (1884) The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species, 2nd edn. J Murray, London

    Google Scholar 

  • De Schepper S, Leus L, Mertens M, Heursel J, Van Bockstaele E, De Loose M (2001) Flow cytometric analysis of ploidy in Rhododendron subgenus Tsutsusi. HortScience 36:125–127

    Google Scholar 

  • de Vries DP, Dubois LAM (1987) The effect of temperature on fruit set, seed set and seed germination in ‘Sonia’ × ‘Hadley’ hybrid tea-rose crosses. Euphytica 36:117–120. doi:10.1007/BF00730654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Vries DP, Dubois LAM (1996) Rose breeding: past, present, prospects. Acta Hortic 420:241–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Debener T, Janakiram T, Mattiesch L (2000) Sports and seedlings of rose varieties analyzed with molecular markers. Plant Breed 119:71–74

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • El Mokadem H, Crespel L, Meynet J, Gudin S (2002) The occurrence of 2n-pollen and the origin of sexual polyploids in dihaploid roses (Rosa hybrida L.). Euphytica 125:169–177

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Erlanson EW (1931a) Sterility in wild roses and in some species hybrid. Genetics 16:76–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Erlanson EW (1931b) A group of tetraploid roses in Oregon. Bot Gaz 91:55–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erlanson EW (1938) Phylogeny and polyploidy in Rosa. New Phytol 37:72–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gudin S (1995) Rose improvement: a breeder’s experience. Acta Hortic 420:125–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Gudin S, Arène L (1991) Influence of the pH of the stigmatic exudate on male-female interaction in Rosa hybrida L. Sex Plant Reprod 4:110–112. doi:10.1007/BF00196496

    Google Scholar 

  • Gudin S, Arène L (1992) Putrescine increases effective pollination period in roses. HortTechnology 2:211–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Gudin S, Arène L, Bulard C (1991a) Influence of season on pollen quality. Sex Plant Reprod 4:113–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Gudin S, Arène L, Pellegrino C (1991b) Influence of temperature and hygrometry on rose pollen germination. Adv Hortic Sci 5:96–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Gudin S, Arène L, Chavagnat A (1992) Relation entre imbibition, densité, taux de remplissage et faculté germinative chez l’akène de Rosa hybrida L. Agronomie 12:123–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacob Y, Ferrero F (2003) Pollen grains and tubes. In: Roberts AV, Debener T, Gudin S (eds) Encyclopedia of rose science, vol 1. Elsevier Academic Press, Oxford, pp 518–523

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacob Y, Pierret V (2000) Pollen size and ploidy level in the genus Rosa. Acta Hortic 508:289–292

    Google Scholar 

  • Krüssmann G (1981) The complete book of roses. Timber Press, Portland

    Google Scholar 

  • Leus L (2005) Resistance breeding for powdery mildew (Podosphaera pannosa) and black spot (Diplocarpon rosae) in roses. PhD Thesis, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium

  • Ogilvie I, Cloutier D, Arnold N, Jui PY (1991) The effect of gibberellic acid on fruit and seed set in crosses of garden and winter hardy Rosa accessions. Euphytica 52:119–123

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roach DA, Wulff RD (1987) Maternal effects in plants. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 18:209–235. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.18.110187.001233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmid B, Dolt C (1994) Effects of maternal and paternal environment and genotype on offspring phenotype in Solidago altissima L. Evolution 48:1525–1549

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tackholm G (1923) Zytologische Studien über die Gattung Rosa. Acta Hortic Berg 7:97–381

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiede DA (1998) Maternal inheritance and its effect on adaptive evolution: a quantitative genetic analysis of maternal effects in a natural plant population. Evolution 52:998–1015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Visser T, de Vries DP, Scheurink JAM, Welles GWH (1977a) Hybrid tea-rose pollen I. Germination and storage. Euphytica 26:721–728. doi:10.1007/BF00021697

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Visser T, de Vries DP, Welles GWH, Scheurink JAM (1977b) Hybrid tea-rose pollen II. Inheritance of pollen viability. Euphytica 26:729–732. doi:10.1007/BF00021698

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werlemark G, Carlson-Nisson U, Esselink GD, Nybom H (2009) Studies of intersectional crosses between pentaploid dogrose species (Rosa sect. Caninae L.) as seed parents and tetraploid garden roses as pollen donors. In: Taxeira da Silva JA (ed) Floriculture and ornamental biotechnology 3, special issue 1. Global Science Books, London, pp 21–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Zlesak DC (2006) Rose Rosa × hybrida. In: Anderson NO (ed) Flower breeding and genetics: issues, challenges and opportunities for the 21st century. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 695–738. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-4428-1_26

    Google Scholar 

  • Zlesak DC (2009) Pollen diameter and guard cell length as predictors of ploidy in diverse rose cultivars, species and breeding lines. In: Taxeira da Silva JA (ed) Floriculture and ornamental biotechnology 3, special issue 1. Global Science Books, London, pp 53–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Zlesak DC, Zuzek K, Hokanson SC (2007) Rose pollen viability over time at varying storage temperatures. Acta Hortic 751:337–343

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all the technical staff of NIRP International, Azienda Agricola di Ghione Luciano & Figli s.s. (Ventimiglia, Italy).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leen Leus.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pipino, L., Van Labeke, MC., Mansuino, A. et al. Pollen morphology as fertility predictor in hybrid tea roses. Euphytica 178, 203–214 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-010-0298-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-010-0298-5

Keywords

Navigation