Molecular sexing in papaya (Carica papaya L.) seeds based on endosperm DNA

Sex determination of papaya var. ‘Maradol’ reveals hermaphrodite-to-male sex reversal under greenhouse conditions

“…'Maradol' and, although faint amplification bands were observed, false negative results were not found (Figure 3a). Likewise, authors also reported false negative results (Deputy et al 2002, Oliveira et al 2007, Pirovani et al 2018, Duarte et al 2020. However, other markers related to hermaphrodite identification have been proposed yielding similar or better performance than W11 (Deputy et al 2002, Urasaki et al 2002, Chaves-Bedoya and Nuñez 2007, Urasaki et al 2012.…”

“…Consequently, growers must perform visual sex identification based on flower characteristics JG Ávila- Hernández et al to eliminate male or female plants (Chaves-Bedoya and Nuñez 2007). This process is carried out every two years, which is the optimal life cycle of this crop (Duarte et al 2020). Although both hermaphrodite and female plants produce fruits, consumers must prefer hermaphrodites because of their elongated shape and great pulp content (del Carmen et al 2012).…”

“…Leaves or seed samples are used for DNA extraction, and specific molecular markers for PCR analysis permit selection of hermaphrodite plants that improve the yields to growers. According to the literature, molecular sexing offers more than 99% accuracy from PCR results and flower morphology, making it a reliable tool for these purposes (Deputy et al 2002, Saalau-Rojas et al 2009, Aspeitia-Echegaray et al 2014, Ruíz Ruíz et al 2017, Araya-Valverde et al 2019, Duarte et al 2020. Molecular sexing based on molecular markers has been used for sex selection in commercial crops like date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.), asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.), and kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis var.…”