The underlying mechanisms that determine whether two species can form a successful graft union (graft compatibility) remain obscure. Two prominent hypotheses are (1) the more closely related species are, the higher the graft success and (2) the vascular anatomy at the graft junction influences graft success. In this paper these two hypotheses are examined in a systematic way using graft combinations selected from a range of (a) phylogenetically close and more distant legume species, (b) species displaying different germination patterns and (c) scions and rootstocks possessing contrasting stem tissues and vascular patterns. Relatedness of species was not a good predictor of graft compatibility, as vascular reconnection can occur between distantly related species and can fail to occur in some more closely related species. Similarly, neither the stem tissues present at the graft junction nor the vascular anatomy correlated with the success of vascular reconnection. Relatedness and stem anatomy therefore do not appear to be the determining factors in successful vascular reconnection after grafting in legumes. These results are discussed in conjunction with other hypotheses such as the role of auxin.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	auxin, grafting, interspecies, vascular development
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Plant biology
Research Field:	Plant developmental and reproductive biology
Objective Division:	Plant Production and Plant Primary Products
Objective Group:	Other plant production and plant primary products
Objective Field:	Other plant production and plant primary products not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Wulf, K (Miss Kate Wulf)
UTAS Author:	Reid, JB (Professor Jim Reid)
UTAS Author:	Foo, E (Associate Professor Eloise Foo)
ID Code:	144734
Year Published:	2020
Funding Support:	Australian Research Council (FT140100770)
Web of Science® Times Cited:	9
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2021-06-07
Last Modified:	2021-08-10
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