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Hobza R, Bačovský V, Čegan R, Horáková L, Hubinský M, Janíček T, Janoušek B, Jedlička P, Kružlicová J, Kubát Z, Rodríguez Lorenzo JL, Novotná P, Hudzieczek V. Sexy ways: the methodical approaches to study plant sex chromosomes. J Exp Bot 2024:erae173. [PMID: 38652048 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erae173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Sex chromosomes have evolved in many plant species with separate sexes. Current plant research is shifting from examining the structure of sex chromosomes to exploring their functional aspects. New studies are progressively unveiling the specific genetic and epigenetic mechanisms responsible for shaping distinct sexes in plants. While the fundamental methods of molecular biology and genomics are generally employed for the analysis of sex chromosomes, it is often necessary to modify classical procedures not only to simplify and expedite analyses but sometimes to make them possible at all. In this review, we demonstrate how, at the level of structural and functional genetics, cytogenetics, and bioinformatics, it is essential to adapt established procedures for sex chromosome analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Hobza
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Bačovský
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Čegan
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Lucie Horáková
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Marcel Hubinský
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Janíček
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Bohuslav Janoušek
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Jedlička
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Kružlicová
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Zdeněk Kubát
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - José Luis Rodríguez Lorenzo
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pavla Novotná
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Hudzieczek
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kralovopolska 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
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Sacchi B, Humphries Z, Kružlicová J, Bodláková M, Pyne C, Choudhury BI, Gong Y, Bačovský V, Hobza R, Barrett SCH, Wright SI. Phased Assembly of Neo-Sex Chromosomes Reveals Extensive Y Degeneration and Rapid Genome Evolution in Rumex hastatulus. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae074. [PMID: 38606901 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Y chromosomes are thought to undergo progressive degeneration due to stepwise loss of recombination and subsequent reduction in selection efficiency. However, the timescales and evolutionary forces driving degeneration remain unclear. To investigate the evolution of sex chromosomes on multiple timescales, we generated a high-quality phased genome assembly of the massive older (<10 MYA) and neo (<200,000 yr) sex chromosomes in the XYY cytotype of the dioecious plant Rumex hastatulus and a hermaphroditic outgroup Rumex salicifolius. Our assemblies, supported by fluorescence in situ hybridization, confirmed that the neo-sex chromosomes were formed by two key events: an X-autosome fusion and a reciprocal translocation between the homologous autosome and the Y chromosome. The enormous sex-linked regions of the X (296 Mb) and two Y chromosomes (503 Mb) both evolved from large repeat-rich genomic regions with low recombination; however, the complete loss of recombination on the Y still led to over 30% gene loss and major rearrangements. In the older sex-linked region, there has been a significant increase in transposable element abundance, even into and near genes. In the neo-sex-linked regions, we observed evidence of extensive rearrangements without gene degeneration and loss. Overall, we inferred significant degeneration during the first 10 million years of Y chromosome evolution but not on very short timescales. Our results indicate that even when sex chromosomes emerge from repetitive regions of already-low recombination, the complete loss of recombination on the Y chromosome still leads to a substantial increase in repetitive element content and gene degeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Sacchi
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Zoë Humphries
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Jana Kružlicová
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Bodláková
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Cassandre Pyne
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Baharul I Choudhury
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
| | - Yunchen Gong
- Centre for Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Václav Bačovský
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Hobza
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Spencer C H Barrett
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Stephen I Wright
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Centre for Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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Muyle A, Marais GAB, Bačovský V, Hobza R, Lenormand T. Dosage compensation evolution in plants: theories, controversies and mechanisms. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210222. [PMID: 35306896 PMCID: PMC8935305 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
In a minority of flowering plants, separate sexes are genetically determined by sex chromosomes. The Y chromosome has a non-recombining region that degenerates, causing a reduced expression of Y genes. In some species, the lower Y expression is accompanied by dosage compensation (DC), a mechanism that re-equalizes male and female expression and/or brings XY male expression back to its ancestral level. Here, we review work on DC in plants, which started as early as the late 1960s with cytological approaches. The use of transcriptomics fired a controversy as to whether DC existed in plants. Further work revealed that various plants exhibit partial DC, including a few species with young and homomorphic sex chromosomes. We are starting to understand the mechanisms responsible for DC in some plants, but in most species, we lack the data to differentiate between global and gene-by-gene DC. Also, it is unknown why some species evolve many dosage compensated genes while others do not. Finally, the forces that drive DC evolution remain mysterious, both in plants and animals. We review the multiple evolutionary theories that have been proposed to explain DC patterns in eukaryotes with XY or ZW sex chromosomes. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline Muyle
- Laboratoire 'Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive', CNRS/Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Gabriel A B Marais
- Laboratoire 'Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive', CNRS/Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France.,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
| | - Václav Bačovský
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Hobza
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Thomas Lenormand
- CEFE, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
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Bačovský V, Čegan R, Tihlaříková E, Neděla V, Hudzieczek V, Smrža L, Janíček T, Beneš V, Hobza R. Chemical genetics in Silene latifolia elucidate regulatory pathways involved in gynoecium development. J Exp Bot 2022; 73:2354-2368. [PMID: 35045170 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Dioecious plants possess diverse sex determination systems and unique mechanisms of reproductive organ development; however, little is known about how sex-linked genes shape the expression of regulatory cascades that lead to developmental differences between sexes. In Silene latifolia, a dioecious plant with stable dimorphism in floral traits, early experiments suggested that female-regulator genes act on the factors that determine the boundaries of the flower whorls. To identify these regulators, we sequenced the transcriptome of male flowers with fully developed gynoecia, induced by rapid demethylation in the parental generation. Eight candidates were found to have a positive role in gynoecium promotion, floral organ size, and whorl boundary, and affect the expression of class B MADS-box flower genes. To complement our transcriptome analysis, we closely examined the floral organs in their native state using field emission environmental scanning electron microscopy, and examined the differences between females and androhermaphrodites in their placenta and ovule organization. Our results reveal the regulatory pathways potentially involved in sex-specific flower development in the classical model of dioecy, S. latifolia. These pathways include previously hypothesized and unknown female-regulator genes that act on the factors that determine the flower boundaries, and a negative regulator of anther development, SUPERMAN-like (SlSUP).
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Affiliation(s)
- Václav Bačovský
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Čegan
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Tihlaříková
- Environmental Electron Microscopy Group, Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 147, 612 64 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vilém Neděla
- Environmental Electron Microscopy Group, Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 147, 612 64 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Hudzieczek
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Lubomír Smrža
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Janíček
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Beneš
- EMBL Genomics Core Facility, EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Roman Hobza
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
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Glombik M, Bačovský V, Hobza R, Kopecký D. Competition of Parental Genomes in Plant Hybrids. Front Plant Sci 2020; 11:200. [PMID: 32158461 PMCID: PMC7052263 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Interspecific hybridization represents one of the main mechanisms of plant speciation. Merging of two genomes from different subspecies, species, or even genera is frequently accompanied by whole-genome duplication (WGD). Besides its evolutionary role, interspecific hybridization has also been successfully implemented in multiple breeding programs. Interspecific hybrids combine agronomic traits of two crop species or can be used to introgress specific loci of interests, such as those for resistance against abiotic or biotic stresses. The genomes of newly established interspecific hybrids (both allopolyploids and homoploids) undergo dramatic changes, including chromosome rearrangements, amplifications of tandem repeats, activation of mobile repetitive elements, and gene expression modifications. To ensure genome stability and proper transmission of chromosomes from both parental genomes into subsequent generations, allopolyploids often evolve mechanisms regulating chromosome pairing. Such regulatory systems allow only pairing of homologous chromosomes and hamper pairing of homoeologs. Despite such regulatory systems, several hybrid examples with frequent homoeologous chromosome pairing have been reported. These reports open a way for the replacement of one parental genome by the other. In this review, we provide an overview of the current knowledge of genomic changes in interspecific homoploid and allopolyploid hybrids, with strictly homologous pairing and with relaxed pairing of homoeologs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Glombik
- Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre of the Region Hana for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Olomouc, Czechia
| | - Václav Bačovský
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia
| | - Roman Hobza
- Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre of the Region Hana for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Olomouc, Czechia
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia
| | - David Kopecký
- Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre of the Region Hana for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Olomouc, Czechia
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Bačovský V, Čegan R, Šimoníková D, Hřibová E, Hobza R. The Formation of Sex Chromosomes in Silene latifolia and S. dioica Was Accompanied by Multiple Chromosomal Rearrangements. Front Plant Sci 2020; 11:205. [PMID: 32180787 PMCID: PMC7059608 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The genus Silene includes a plethora of dioecious and gynodioecious species. Two species, Silene latifolia (white campion) and Silene dioica (red campion), are dioecious plants, having heteromorphic sex chromosomes with an XX/XY sex determination system. The X and Y chromosomes differ mainly in size, DNA content and posttranslational histone modifications. Although it is generally assumed that the sex chromosomes evolved from a single pair of autosomes, it is difficult to distinguish the ancestral pair of chromosomes in related gynodioecious and hermaphroditic plants. We designed an oligo painting probe enriched for X-linked scaffolds from currently available genomic data and used this probe on metaphase chromosomes of S. latifolia (2n = 24, XY), S. dioica (2n = 24, XY), and two gynodioecious species, S. vulgaris (2n = 24) and S. maritima (2n = 24). The X chromosome-specific oligo probe produces a signal specifically on the X and Y chromosomes in S. latifolia and S. dioica, mainly in the subtelomeric regions. Surprisingly, in S. vulgaris and S. maritima, the probe hybridized to three pairs of autosomes labeling their p-arms. This distribution suggests that sex chromosome evolution was accompanied by extensive chromosomal rearrangements in studied dioecious plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Václav Bačovský
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia
- *Correspondence: Václav Bačovský,
| | - Radim Čegan
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia
- Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Olomouc, Czechia
| | - Denisa Šimoníková
- Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Olomouc, Czechia
| | - Eva Hřibová
- Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Olomouc, Czechia
| | - Roman Hobza
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia
- Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Olomouc, Czechia
- Roman Hobza,
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Bačovský V, Houben A, Kumke K, Hobza R. The distribution of epigenetic histone marks differs between the X and Y chromosomes in Silene latifolia. Planta 2019; 250:487-494. [PMID: 31069521 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-019-03182-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Contrasting patterns of histone modifications between the X and Y chromosome in Silene latifolia show euchromatic histone mark depletion on the Y chromosome and indicate hyperactivation of one X chromosome in females. Silene latifolia (white campion) is a dioecious plant with heteromorphic sex chromosomes (24, XX in females and 24, XY in males), and a genetically degenerated Y chromosome that is 1.4 times larger than the X chromosome. Although the two sex chromosomes differ in their DNA content, information about epigenetic histone marks and evidence of their function are scarce. We performed immunolabeling experiments using antibodies specific for active and suppressive histone modifications as well as pericentromere-specific histone modifications. We show that the Y chromosome is partially depleted of histone modifications important for transcriptionally active chromatin, and carries these marks only in the pseudo-autosomal region, but that it is not enriched for suppressive and pericentromere histone marks. We also show that two of the active marks are specifically enriched in one of the X chromosomes in females and in the X chromosome in males. Our data support recent findings that genetic imprinting mediates dosage compensation of sex chromosomes in S. latifolia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Václav Bačovský
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Andreas Houben
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstrasse 3, Gatersleben, 06466, Germany
| | - Katrin Kumke
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstrasse 3, Gatersleben, 06466, Germany
| | - Roman Hobza
- Department of Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65, Brno, Czech Republic.
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