Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Self-incompatibility (SI) is a genetic mechanism that prevents self-fertilization in plants. There are two main types: Sporophytic (SSI) and Gametophytic (GSI).
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Assertion A Analysis: This is a historical fact in plant genetics. East and Mangelsdorf (1925) first described GSI in Nicotiana, but the specific details regarding Crepis foetida were indeed pioneered by Hughes and Babcock in 1950. Their work helped define the inheritance and mechanics of the gametophytic system.
Reason R Analysis: This is the fundamental definition of the Gametophytic system. In GSI, the incompatibility phenotype of the pollen is determined by its own haploid genotype (the S-allele it carries). For example, if a plant is \(S_1S_2\), it produces pollen grains that are either \(S_1\) or \(S_2\). If a pollen grain (\(S_1\)) lands on a stigma that also carries an \(S_1\) allele, it will be inhibited. In contrast, in Sporophytic SI, the pollen behavior is determined by the diploid genotype of the parent plant.
Since R defines the mechanism that Hughes and Babcock discovered/described in GSI, it serves as a valid explanation for the nature of the system mentioned in Assertion A.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Both A and R are correct and R is the correct explanation of A.