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Marais GAB, Lemaître JF. Sex chromosomes, sex ratios and sex gaps in longevity in plants. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210219. [PMID: 35306888 PMCID: PMC8935291 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In animals, males and females can display markedly different longevity (also called sex gaps in longevity, SGL). Sex chromosomes contribute to establishing these SGLs. X-hemizygosity and toxicity of the Y chromosomes are two mechanisms that have been suggested to reduce male longevity (Z-hemizygosity and W toxicity in females in ZW systems). In plants, SGLs are known to exist, but the role of sex chromosomes remains to be established. Here, by using adult sex ratio as a proxy for measuring SGLs, we explored the relationship between sex chromosomes and SGLs across 43 plant species. Based on the knowledge accumulated in animals, we specifically asked whether: (i) species with XY systems tend to have female-biased sex ratios (reduced male longevity) and species with ZW ones tend to have male-biased sex ratios (reduced female longevity); and (ii) this pattern was stronger in heteromorphic systems compared to homomorphic ones. Our results tend to support these predictions although we lack statistical power because of a small number of ZW systems and the absence of any heteromorphic ZW system in the dataset. We discuss the implications of these findings, which we hope will stimulate further research on sex differences in lifespan and ageing across plants. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel A B Marais
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal.,Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal.,BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal.,LBBE, CNRS/Univ. Lyon 1, Campus de la Doua, Villeurbanne, France
| | - J-F Lemaître
- LBBE, CNRS/Univ. Lyon 1, Campus de la Doua, Villeurbanne, France
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2
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Käfer J, Méndez M, Mousset S. Labile sex expression in angiosperm species with sex chromosomes. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210216. [PMID: 35306891 PMCID: PMC8935303 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we review the literature on sexual lability in dioecious angiosperm species with well-studied sex chromosomes. We distinguish three types of departures from strict dioecy, concerning either a minority of flowers in some individuals (leakiness) or the entire individual, which can constantly be bisexual or change sex. We found that for only four of the 22 species studied, reports of lability are lacking. The occurrence of lability is only weakly related to sex chromosome characteristics (number of sex-linked genes, age of the non-recombining region). These results contradict the naive idea that lability is an indication of the absence or the recent evolution of sex chromosomes, and thereby contribute to a growing consensus that sex chromosomes do not necessarily fix sex determination once and for all. We discuss some implications of these findings for the evolution of sex chromosomes, and suggest that more species with well-characterized lability should be studied with genomic data and tools. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jos Käfer
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5558, 69622 Villeurbanne, France.,CESAB-FRB, 34000 Montpellier, France
| | - Marcos Méndez
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles (Madrid), Spain
| | - Sylvain Mousset
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5558, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
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3
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Renner SS, Müller NA. Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210210. [PMID: 35306895 PMCID: PMC8935313 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Linnaeus's very first opus, written when he was 22 years old, dealt with the analogy that exists between plants and animals in how they 'propagate their species', and a revised version with a plate depicting the union of male and female Mercurialis annua plants became a foundational text on the sexuality of plants. The question how systems with separate males and females have evolved in sedentary organisms that appear ancestrally bisexual has fascinated biologists ever since. The phenomenon, termed dioecy, has important consequences for plant reproductive success and is of commercial interest since it affects seed quality and fruit production. This theme issue presents a series of articles that synthesize and challenge the current understanding of how plants achieve dioecy. The articles deal with a broad set of taxa, including Coccinia, Ginkgo, Mercurialis, Populus, Rumex and Silene, as well as overarching topics, such as the field's terminology, analogies with animal sex determination systems, evolutionary pathways to dioecy, dosage compensation, and the longevity of the two sexes. In this introduction, we focus on four topics, each addressed by several articles from different angles and with different conclusions. Our highlighting of unclear or controversial issues may help future studies to build on the current understanding and to ask new questions that will expand our knowledge of plant sexual systems. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne S. Renner
- Department of Biology, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Niels A. Müller
- Thünen-Institute of Forest Genetics, Sieker Landstrasse 2, 22927 Grosshansdorf, Germany
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Jabbour F, Espinosa F, Dejonghe Q, Le Péchon T. Development and Evolution of Unisexual Flowers: A Review. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 11:plants11020155. [PMID: 35050043 PMCID: PMC8780417 DOI: 10.3390/plants11020155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The development of unisexual flowers has been described in a large number of taxa, sampling the diversity of floral phenotypes and sexual systems observed in extant angiosperms, in studies focusing on floral ontogeny, on the evo-devo of unisexuality, or on the genetic and chromosomal bases of unisexuality. We review here such developmental studies, aiming at characterizing the diversity of ontogenic pathways leading to functionally unisexual flowers. In addition, we present for the first time and in a two-dimensional morphospace a quantitative description of the developmental rate of the sexual organs in functionally unisexual flowers, in a non-exhaustive sampling of angiosperms with contrasted floral morphologies. Eventually, recommendations are provided to help plant evo-devo researchers and botanists addressing macroevolutionary and ecological issues to more precisely select the taxa, the biological material, or the developmental stages to be investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Jabbour
- Institut de Systématique Évolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 57 rue Cuvier, CP39, 75005 Paris, France;
| | - Felipe Espinosa
- Independent Researcher, Carrera 13 # 113-24, Bogotá 110111, Colombia;
| | - Quentin Dejonghe
- Institut de Systématique Évolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 57 rue Cuvier, CP39, 75005 Paris, France;
| | - Timothée Le Péchon
- Meise Botanic Garden, Nieuwelaan 38, 1860 Meise, Belgium;
- Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Service Général de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique, Rue A. Lavalée, 1, 1080 Brussels, Belgium
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Renner SS, Müller NA. Plant sex chromosomes defy evolutionary models of expanding recombination suppression and genetic degeneration. NATURE PLANTS 2021; 7:392-402. [PMID: 33782581 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-021-00884-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Hundreds of land plant lineages have independently evolved separate sexes in either gametophytes (dioicy) or sporophytes (dioecy), but 43% of all dioecious angiosperms are found in just 34 entirely dioecious clades, suggesting that their mode of sex determination evolved a long time ago. Here, we review recent insights on the molecular mechanisms that underlie the evolutionary change from individuals that each produce male and female gametes to individuals specializing in the production of just one type of gamete. The canonical model of sex chromosome evolution in plants predicts that two sex-determining genes will become linked in a sex-determining region (SDR), followed by expanding recombination suppression, chromosome differentiation and, ultimately, degeneration. Experimental work, however, is showing that single genes function as master regulators in model systems, such as the liverwort Marchantia and the angiosperms Diospyros and Populus. In Populus, this type of regulatory function has been demonstrated by genome editing. In other systems, including Actinidia, Asparagus and Vitis, two coinherited factors appear to independently regulate female and male function, yet sex chromosome differentiation has remained low. We discuss the best-understood systems and evolutionary pathways to dioecy, and present a meta-analysis of the sizes and ages of SDRs. We propose that limited sexual conflict explains why most SDRs are small and sex chromosomes remain homomorphic. It appears that models of increasing recombination suppression with age do not apply because selection favours mechanisms in which sex determination depends on minimal differences, keeping it surgically precise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne S Renner
- Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany.
| | - Niels A Müller
- Thünen Institute of Forest Genetics, Grosshansdorf, Germany.
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Barcaccia G, Palumbo F, Sgorbati S, Albertini E, Pupilli F. A Reappraisal of the Evolutionary and Developmental Pathway of Apomixis and Its Genetic Control in Angiosperms. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E859. [PMID: 32731368 PMCID: PMC7466056 DOI: 10.3390/genes11080859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Apomixis sensu stricto (agamospermy) is asexual reproduction by seed. In angiosperms it represents an easy byway of life cycle renewal through gamete-like cells that give rise to maternal embryos without ploidy reduction (meiosis) and ploidy restitution (syngamy). The origin of apomixis still represents an unsolved problem, as it may be either evolved from sex or the other way around. This review deals with a reappraisal of the origin of apomixis in order to deepen knowledge on such asexual mode of reproduction which seems mainly lacking in the most basal angiosperm orders (i.e., Amborellales, Nymphaeales and Austrobaileyales, also known as ANA-grade), while it clearly occurs in different forms and variants in many unrelated families of monocots and eudicots. Overall findings strengthen the hypothesis that apomixis as a whole may have evolved multiple times in angiosperm evolution following different developmental pathways deviating to different extents from sexuality. Recent developments on the genetic control of apomixis in model species are also presented and adequately discussed in order to shed additional light on the antagonist theories of gain- and loss-of-function over sexuality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianni Barcaccia
- Department of Agronomy Food Natural Resources Animals Environment, University of Padova, Campus of Agripolis, Viale dell’Università 16, Legnaro, 35020 Padova, Italy;
| | - Fabio Palumbo
- Department of Agronomy Food Natural Resources Animals Environment, University of Padova, Campus of Agripolis, Viale dell’Università 16, Legnaro, 35020 Padova, Italy;
| | - Sergio Sgorbati
- Department of Environmental and Territory Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126 Milano, Italy;
| | - Emidio Albertini
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, 06121 Perugia, Italy;
| | - Fulvio Pupilli
- Research Division of Perugia, Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council (CNR), Via Madonna Alta 130, 06128 Perugia, Italy;
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Zhang Q, Onstein RE, Little SA, Sauquet H. Estimating divergence times and ancestral breeding systems in Ficus and Moraceae. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2019; 123:191-204. [PMID: 30202847 PMCID: PMC6344110 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcy159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Background and Aims Although dioecy, which characterizes only 6 % of angiosperm species, has been considered an evolutionary dead end, recent studies have demonstrated that this is not necessarily the case. Moraceae (40 genera, 1100 spp., including Ficus, 750 spp.) are particularly diverse in breeding systems (including monoecy, gynodioecy, androdioecy and dioecy) and thus represent a model clade to study macroevolution of dioecy. Methods Ancestral breeding systems of Ficus and Moraceae were inferred. To do so, a new dated phylogenetic tree of Ficus and Moraceae was first reconstructed by combining a revised 12-fossil calibration set and a densely sampled molecular data set of eight markers and 320 species. Breeding system evolution was then reconstructed using both parsimony and model-based (maximum likelihood and Bayesian) approaches with this new time scale. Key Results The crown group ages of Ficus and Moraceae were estimated in the Eocene (40.6-55.9 Ma) and Late Cretaceous (73.2-84.7 Ma), respectively. Strong support was found for ancestral dioecy in Moraceae. Although the ancestral state of Ficus remained particularly sensitive to model selection, the results show that monoecy and gynodioecy evolved from dioecy in Moraceae, and suggest that gynodioecy probably evolved from monoecy in Ficus. Conclusions Dioecy was found not to be an evolutionary dead end in Moraceae. This study provides a new time scale for the phylogeny and a new framework of breeding system evolution in Ficus and Moraceae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhang
- Laboratoire Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France
| | - Renske E Onstein
- Laboratoire Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stefan A Little
- Laboratoire Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France
| | - Hervé Sauquet
- Laboratoire Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France
- National Herbarium of New South Wales (NSW), Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia
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Tournebize R, Manel S, Vigouroux Y, Munoz F, de Kochko A, Poncet V. Two disjunct Pleistocene populations and anisotropic postglacial expansion shaped the current genetic structure of the relict plant Amborella trichopoda. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0183412. [PMID: 28820899 PMCID: PMC5562301 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2017] [Accepted: 08/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Past climate fluctuations shaped the population dynamics of organisms in space and time, and have impacted their present intra-specific genetic structure. Demo-genetic modelling allows inferring the way past demographic and migration dynamics have determined this structure. Amborella trichopoda is an emblematic relict plant endemic to New Caledonia, widely distributed in the understory of non-ultramafic rainforests. We assessed the influence of the last glacial climates on the demographic history and the paleo-distribution of 12 Amborella populations covering the whole current distribution. We performed coalescent genetic modelling of these dynamics, based on both whole-genome resequencing and microsatellite genotyping data. We found that the two main genetic groups of Amborella were shaped by the divergence of two ancestral populations during the last glacial maximum. From 12,800 years BP, the South ancestral population has expanded 6.3-fold while the size of the North population has remained stable. Recent asymmetric gene flow between the groups further contributed to the phylogeographical pattern. Spatially explicit coalescent modelling allowed us to estimate the location of ancestral populations with good accuracy (< 22 km) and provided indications regarding the mid-elevation pathways that facilitated post-glacial expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémi Tournebize
- UMR DIADE, Institut de Recherche pour le développement, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Stéphanie Manel
- UMR CEFE, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, CNRS, University of Montpellier, Montpellier SupAgro, IRD, INRA, Montpellier, France
| | - Yves Vigouroux
- UMR DIADE, Institut de Recherche pour le développement, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - François Munoz
- UMR AMAP, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- French Institute of Pondicherry, Pondicherry, India
| | - Alexandre de Kochko
- UMR DIADE, Institut de Recherche pour le développement, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Valérie Poncet
- UMR DIADE, Institut de Recherche pour le développement, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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The ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification. Nat Commun 2017; 8:16047. [PMID: 28763051 PMCID: PMC5543309 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms16047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2016] [Accepted: 05/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in molecular phylogenetics and a series of important palaeobotanical discoveries have revolutionized our understanding of angiosperm diversification. Yet, the origin and early evolution of their most characteristic feature, the flower, remains poorly understood. In particular, the structure of the ancestral flower of all living angiosperms is still uncertain. Here we report model-based reconstructions for ancestral flowers at the deepest nodes in the phylogeny of angiosperms, using the largest data set of floral traits ever assembled. We reconstruct the ancestral angiosperm flower as bisexual and radially symmetric, with more than two whorls of three separate perianth organs each (undifferentiated tepals), more than two whorls of three separate stamens each, and more than five spirally arranged separate carpels. Although uncertainty remains for some of the characters, our reconstruction allows us to propose a new plausible scenario for the early diversification of flowers, leading to new testable hypotheses for future research on angiosperms.
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