Default Sex and Single Gene Sex Determination in Dioecious Plants

Cronk, Quentin; Müller, Niels A.

doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.01162

Cited by 40 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Thus, it is likely that several sex-determining systems will be resolved in the next couple of years. Furthermore, the pathway connecting these high-level regulators to floral phenotype is largely unknown, and work in this area is urgently required if we are to fully understand dioecy ( Feng et al, 2020 ; Cronk and Müller, 2020 ). These data will allow exciting further generalizations and improve our understanding of the molecular control and the evolution of dioecy in flowering plants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Just as in maize, the artificial conversion from monoecy to dioecy was achieved by producing a population with a non-functional acs11 gene and a segregating wip1 mutation ( Boualem et al, 2015 ). Both examples demonstrate a potential pathway for the evolution of dioecy that results in the fixation of one mutation and a single segregating mutation controlling sex determination ( Muller, 1932 ; Westergaard, 1958 ; Golenberg and West, 2013 ; Renner, 2016 ; Cronk and Müller, 2020 ).…”

Section: Genetic Mechanisms Of Sex Determinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Diversity and Dynamics of Sex Determination in Dioecious Plants

Montalvão¹,

Kersten²,

Fladung³

et al. 2021

Front. Plant Sci.

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The diversity of inflorescences among flowering plants is captivating. Such charm is not only due to the variety of sizes, shapes, colors, and flowers displayed, but also to the range of reproductive systems. For instance, hermaphrodites occur abundantly throughout the plant kingdom with both stamens and carpels within the same flower. Nevertheless, 10% of flowering plants have separate unisexual flowers, either in different locations of the same individual (monoecy) or on different individuals (dioecy). Despite their rarity, dioecious plants provide an excellent opportunity to investigate the mechanisms involved in sex expression and the evolution of sex-determining regions (SDRs) and sex chromosomes. The SDRs and the evolution of dioecy have been studied in many species ranging from Ginkgo to important fruit crops. Some of these studies, for example in asparagus or kiwifruit, identified two sex-determining genes within the non-recombining SDR and may thus be consistent with the classical model for the evolution of dioecy from hermaphroditism via gynodioecy, that predicts two successive mutations, the first one affecting male and the second one female function, becoming linked in a region of suppressed recombination. On the other hand, aided by genome sequencing and gene editing, single factor sex determination has emerged in other species, such as persimmon or poplar. Despite the diversity of sex-determining mechanisms, a tentative comparative analysis of the known sex-determining genes and candidates in different species suggests that similar genes and pathways may be employed repeatedly for the evolution of dioecy. The cytokinin signaling pathway appears important for sex determination in several species regardless of the underlying genetic system. Additionally, tapetum-related genes often seem to act as male-promoting factors when sex is determined via two genes. We present a unified model that synthesizes the genetic networks of sex determination in monoecious and dioecious plants and will support the generation of hypothesis regarding candidate sex determinants in future studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Genetic Mechanisms Of Sex Determinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Diversity and Dynamics of Sex Determination in Dioecious Plants

Montalvão¹,

Kersten²,

Fladung³

et al. 2021

Front. Plant Sci.

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“…While there is mounting evidence pointing towards ARR17 as the master regulator in Populus spp. 4,24,25 the evidence for different expression profiles of ARR17 in Salix , as well as the presence of additional candidate genes, suggests that the mechanism may be more complicated or altogether different in Salix . Nevertheless, expression data from the ARR17 homologs in S. purpurea does support a possible role in sex determination, either as a single gene master regulator or part of a two-gene system in conjunction with another master regulator, and would provide further evidence to support cytokinin response as a common mechanism for dioecy in angiosperms, as suggested by Montalvão et al 10 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4). Cronk and Müller (2020) proposed that ARR17 may act as a feminizing master regulator in Populus through the suppression of PISTILLATA ( PI ) or APETALLA3 ( AP3 ) MADS-box genes 25 . Importantly, there was no association of either PI or AP3 expression with genomic variation in the SDR, despite the fact that PI shows very high levels of expression in males (log2 M:F 13.21) (Table S11), further suggesting that the mechanism of sex determination in Salix may be different from Populus .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a strong interest in understanding the genetic mechanisms controlling sex determination in Salix , along with the gene pathways involved in sex dimorphism, in order to advance current breeding efforts and genetic studies to improve Salix as a bioenergy crop. Nevertheless, there is still relatively little data characterizing sex-determination genes and sex dimorphism pathways in Salix , despite substantial research and identification of putative master regulators of sex in the related genus Populus 4,18,24,25 . Moreover, willows are typically insect pollinated, whereas members of the genus Populus are wind pollinated and show little evidence of sex dimorphism in vegetative traits 26 which may point to unique pathways and genes involved in sex dimorphism and underscores the need for sex determination research that is specific to Salix .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Integrative genomics reveals paths to sex dimorphism inSalix purpureaL.

Hyden

Carlson

Gouker

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Sex dimorphism and gene expression were studied in developing catkins in 159 F2 individuals from the bioenergy crop Salix purpurea, and potential mechanisms and pathways for regulating sex development were explored. Differential expression, eQTL, bisulfite sequencing, and network analysis were used to characterize sex dimorphism, detect candidate master regulator genes, and identify pathways through which the sex determination region (SDR) may mediate sex dimorphism. Eleven genes are presented as candidates for master regulators of sex, supported by gene expression and network analyses. These include genes putatively involved in hormone signaling, epigenetic modification, and regulation of transcription. eQTL analysis revealed a suite of transcription factors and genes involved in secondary metabolism and floral development that were predicted to be under direct control of the sex determination region. Furthermore, data from bisulfite sequencing and small RNA sequencing revealed strong differences in expression between males and females that would implicate both of these processes in sex dimorphism pathways. These data indicate that the mechanism of sex determination in Salix purpurea is likely different from that observed in the related genus Populus. This further demonstrates the dynamic nature of SDRs in plants, which involves a multitude of mechanisms of sex determination and a high rate of turnover.

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Functional analysis of Salix purpurea genes support roles for ARR17 and GATA15 as master regulators of sex determination

Hyden,

Carper,

Abraham

et al. 2023

Plant Direct

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The Salicaceae family is of growing interest in the study of dioecy in plants because the sex determination region (SDR) has been shown to be highly dynamic, with differing locations and heterogametic systems between species. Without the ability to transform and regenerate Salix in tissue culture, previous studies investigating the mechanisms regulating sex in the genus Salix have been limited to genome resequencing and differential gene expression, which are mostly descriptive in nature, and functional validation of candidate sex determination genes has not yet been conducted. Here, we used Arabidopsis to functionally characterize a suite of previously identified candidate genes involved in sex determination and sex dimorphism in the bioenergy shrub willow Salix purpurea. Six candidate master regulator genes for sex determination were heterologously expressed in Arabidopsis, followed by floral proteome analysis. In addition, 11 transcription factors with predicted roles in mediating sex dimorphism downstream of the SDR were tested using DAP‐Seq in both male and female S. purpurea DNA. The results of this study provide further evidence to support models for the roles of ARR17 and GATA15 as master regulator genes of sex determination in S. purpurea, contributing to a regulatory system that is notably different from that of its sister genus Populus. Evidence was also obtained for the roles of two transcription factors, an AP2/ERF family gene and a homeodomain‐like transcription factor, in downstream regulation of sex dimorphism.

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Default Sex and Single Gene Sex Determination in Dioecious Plants

Cited by 40 publications

References 37 publications

The Diversity and Dynamics of Sex Determination in Dioecious Plants

The Diversity and Dynamics of Sex Determination in Dioecious Plants

Integrative genomics reveals paths to sex dimorphism inSalix purpureaL.

Functional analysis of Salix purpurea genes support roles for ARR17 and GATA15 as master regulators of sex determination

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