Self-incompatible

In botany, 'self-incompatible' describes a plant's inability to successfully fertilize itself, preventing reproduction through its own pollen. This mechanism promotes outcrossing, or cross-pollination with other plants, thereby increasing genetic diversity within the plant population. Self-incompatibility systems can involve various genetic or biochemical barriers that recognize and reject self-pollen or pollen from closely related individuals. This contrasts with self-compatible species, which can readily fertilize themselves. The prevalence of self-incompatibility plays a significant role in plant evolution, speciation, and agricultural practices, influencing crop breeding strategies to maximize yield and vigor.

Self-incompatible meaning with examples

• The apple tree, known for its self-incompatible nature, requires cross-pollination with another variety to produce fruit. This necessitates the planting of at least two different cultivars within proximity to ensure successful fertilization and a bountiful harvest. Without cross-pollination, the flowers will not set fruit.
• Many of the more modern varieties of broccoli are considered to be self-incompatible, and thus seed production involves the deliberate selection of specific parental lines. Breeders carefully cross-pollinate plants to create hybrid seeds, improving the vigor of the resulting plants and yield, along with disease resistance.
• The wild population of a particular species of sunflower exhibits high levels of self-incompatibility. This trait is beneficial, promoting the spread of diverse genetic traits, which allows the population to adapt to changes in local environmental conditions such as temperature extremes and insect outbreaks.
• Scientists studying the breeding patterns of certain flowers observed that the plants exhibit self-incompatibility, which they determined through controlled experiments. They discovered that the plants possessed genetic mechanisms that caused them to reject their own pollen for effective pollination.