Comparative development of staminate and pistillate flowers in the dioecious cactus Opuntia robusta

Hernández-Cruz, Rocío; Silva-Martínez, Jesús; García-Campusano, Florencia; Cruz‐García, Felipe; Orozco-Arroyo, Gregorio; Alfaro, Isabel López; Vázquez‐Santana, Sonia

doi:10.1007/s00497-019-00365-w

Cited by 15 publications

(21 citation statements)

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“…Programmed Cell Death (PCD) has been proposed as a principal force for driving the development of unisexuality in angiosperms through Type I [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. However, the abortion of the male and female organs can occur in different stages and tissues [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ] and it is species dependent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unraveling the development behind unisexual flowers in Cylindropuntia wolfii (Cactaceae)

et al. 2022

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Background In certain unisexual flowers, non-functional sexual organs remain vestigial and unisexuality can be overlooked leading to the ambiguous description of the sexual systems. Therefore, to accurately describe the sexual system, detailed morphological and developmental analyses along with experimental crosses must be performed. Cylindropuntia wolfii is a rare cactus endemic to the Sonoran Desert in southern California and northern Baja California that was described as gynodioecious by morphological analysis. The aims of our project include accurately identifying the sexual system of C. wolfii using histological and functional studies and characterizing the developmental mechanisms that underlie its floral development. Methods Histological analyses were carried out on different stages of C. wolfii flowers and controlled crosses were performed in the field. Result Our results identified C. wolfii to be functionally dioecious. The ovule and anther development differed between staminate and pistillate flowers. In vivo pollen germination tests showed that the pollen of staminate and pistillate flowers were viable and the stigma and style of both staminate and pistillate flowers were receptive. This suggests that there are no genetic or developmental barriers in the earlier stages of pollen recognition and pollen germination. Conclusions Despite being functionally dioecious, we observed that functionally pistillate individuals produced fruits with a large number of aborted seeds. This implies that not only does this species have low reproductive success, but its small population sizes may lead to low genetic diversity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Cactaceae, female sterility varies considerably between taxa [ 15 ]. In the functionally dioecious O. stenopetala , the ovule abortion in staminate flowers was initiated in early primordial stages [ 26 ], whereas in Consolea , the ovule degeneration was induced prior to anthesis and after the development of embryo sac [ 27 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling the development behind unisexual flowers in Cylindropuntia wolfii (Cactaceae)

et al. 2022

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“…A common cause of male sterility is the mistimed degeneration of anther wall layers, primarily the tapetum. Mistimed PCD prevents viable pollen formation and is one of the strategies developed by angiosperms to produce unisexual flowers (Flores-Rentería et al 2013 ; Hernández-Cruz et al 2019 ; Ren et al 2019 ). Normal degeneration of the tapetum and middle layer tissues is vital for the provision of nutrients and wall materials for pollen maturation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Normal degeneration of the tapetum and middle layer tissues is vital for the provision of nutrients and wall materials for pollen maturation. Infertility in a variety of species such as Tapiscia sinensis, an androdioecious tree, or in dioecious cacti, in the Opuntia family is ensured by preventing the deposition of essentials materials for mature pollen formation, without the need to restructure the anther (Flores-Rentería et al 2013 ; Hernández-Cruz et al 2019 ; Ren et al 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution and diversity of the angiosperm anther: trends in function and development

et al. 2021

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Key message Anther development and dehiscence is considered from an evolutionary perspective to identify drivers for differentiation, functional conservation and to identify key questions for future male reproduction research. Abstract Development of viable pollen and its timely release from the anther are essential for fertilisation of angiosperm flowers. The formation and subsequent dehiscence of the anther are under tight regulatory control, and these processes are remarkably conserved throughout the diverse families of the angiosperm clade. Anther development is a complex process, which requires timely formation and communication between the multiple somatic anther cell layers (the epidermis, endothecium, middle layer and tapetum) and the developing pollen. These layers go through regulated development and selective degeneration to facilitate the formation and ultimate release of the pollen grains. Insight into the evolution and divergence of anther development and dehiscence, especially between monocots and dicots, is driving greater understanding of the male reproductive process and increased, resilient crop yields. This review focuses on anther structure from an evolutionary perspective by highlighting their diversity across plant species. We summarise new findings that illustrate the complexities of anther development and evaluate how they challenge established models of anther form and function, and how they may help to deliver future sustainable crop yields.

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“…The spikelet, the basic unit of the maize florescence, contains one upper and one lower flower. The two bisexual florets become exclusively staminate in the tassel and exclusively pistillate in the ear via the selective abortion of pistils in tassel florets and the arrest of staminate development in the ear floret (Hernandez‐Cruz et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tasselseed5 encodes a cytochrome C oxidase that functions in sex determination by affecting jasmonate catabolism in maize

Wang

Yuan

Zhao

et al. 2019

JIPB

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Maize (Zea mays L.) is a monoecious grass plant in which mature male and female florets form the tassel and ear, respectively. Maize is often used as a model plant to study flower development. Several maize tassel seed mutants, such as the recessive mutants tasselseed1 (ts1) and tasselseed2 (ts2), exhibit a reversal in sex determination, which leads to the generation of seeds in tassels. The phenotype of the dominant mutant, Tasselseed5 (Ts5), is similar to that of ts2. Here, we positionally cloned the underlying gene of Ts5 and characterized its function. We show that the GRMZM2G177668 gene is overexpressed in Ts5. This gene encodes a cytochrome C oxidase, which catalyzes the transformation of jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine (JA-Ile) to 12OH-JA-Ile during jasmonic acid catabolism. Consistent with this finding, no JA-Ile peak was detected in Ts5 tassels during the sex determination period, unlike in the wild type. Transgenic maize plants overexpressing GRMZM2G177668 exhibited a tassel-seed phenotype similar to that of Ts5. These results indicate that the JA-Ile peak in tassels is critical for sex determination and that the Ts5 mutant phenotype results from the disruption of this peak in tassels during sex determination.

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Comparative development of staminate and pistillate flowers in the dioecious cactus Opuntia robusta

Cited by 15 publications

References 65 publications

Unraveling the development behind unisexual flowers in Cylindropuntia wolfii (Cactaceae)

Unraveling the development behind unisexual flowers in Cylindropuntia wolfii (Cactaceae)

Evolution and diversity of the angiosperm anther: trends in function and development

Tasselseed5 encodes a cytochrome C oxidase that functions in sex determination by affecting jasmonate catabolism in maize

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