Fig. 8

Jointmore (Jmr), a tomato mutant with an early and generalized activation of floral abscission. a-b Leaves of Jmr plants cultivated in the greenhouse are almost serrated (a) and show deeply indented margins (b). c-d Early activation of floral abscission. The pedicel abscission zone is activated in flower bud or pre-anthesis stages (c), promoting flower detachment from the inflorescence (d). e Southern blot analysis of Jmr genomic DNA digested by restriction enzymes EcoRI (e) and HindIII (h) and hybridized with the NPTII-FA probe. Red arrow: FA-EcoR1; Green arrow: NPTII-EcoRI; Orange arrows: NPTII-HindIII; Yellow arrow: FA-HindIII. f A strong GUS reporter expression is observed in leaf rachis as well as in the stem pith. g-h GUS expression is particularly intense in the pedicel abscission zone as well as in the zone where the abscission zones of the flower internal whorls lie. Note in g and h the absence of the three flower internal whorls due to activation of the corresponding AZs. i GUS expression is maintained in the pedicel abscission zone after flower detachment. Bar (a-h) = 1 cm; Bar (i) = 1 mm