AI Article Synopsis
- Balanced mating type polymorphisms provide insight into the evolution of sexual reproduction strategies in plants, particularly within the Juglandaceae family (like walnuts and hickories).
- Researchers have identified two distinct Mendelian inheritance mechanisms linked to ancient DNA polymorphisms that dictate whether flowers develop male or female first, showing a 1:1 genetic ratio.
- A dominant haplotype associated with female-first flowering is linked to a gene related to trehalose-6-phosphate metabolism, suggesting complex regulation of gene expression and hints at sex chromosome-like evolution in these plants.
Article Abstract
Balanced mating type polymorphisms offer a distinct window into the forces shaping sexual reproduction strategies. Multiple hermaphroditic genera in Juglandaceae, including walnuts () and hickories (), show a 1:1 genetic dimorphism for male versus female flowering order (heterodichogamy). We map two distinct Mendelian inheritance mechanisms to ancient (>37 million years old) genus-wide structural DNA polymorphisms. The dominant haplotype for female-first flowering in contains tandem repeats of the 3' untranslated region of a gene putatively involved in trehalose-6-phosphate metabolism and is associated with increased gene expression in developing male flowers, possibly mediated by small RNAs. The locus contains ~20 syntenic genes and shows molecular signatures of sex chromosome-like evolution. Inheritance mechanisms for heterodichogamy are deeply conserved, yet may occasionally turn over, as in sex determination.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.ado5578 | DOI Listing |
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