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Dioecy and chromosomal sex determination are maintained through allopolyploid speciation in the plant genus Mercurialis.

Toups, M. A., Vicoso, B. and Pannell, J. R., 2022. Dioecy and chromosomal sex determination are maintained through allopolyploid speciation in the plant genus Mercurialis. PLoS Genetics, 18 (7), e1010226.

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DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010226

Abstract

Polyploidization may precipitate dramatic changes to the genome, including chromosome rearrangements, gene loss, and changes in gene expression. In dioecious plants, the sex-determining mechanism may also be disrupted by polyploidization, with the potential evolution of hermaphroditism. However, while dioecy appears to have persisted through a ploidy transition in some species, it is unknown whether the newly formed polyploid maintained its sex-determining system uninterrupted, or whether dioecy re-evolved after a period of hermaphroditism. Here, we develop a bioinformatic pipeline using RNA-sequencing data from natural populations to demonstrate that the allopolyploid plant Mercurialis canariensis directly inherited its sex-determining region from one of its diploid progenitor species, M. annua, and likely remained dioecious through the transition. The sex-determining region of M. canariensis is smaller than that of its diploid progenitor, suggesting that the non-recombining region of M. annua expanded subsequent to the polyploid origin of M. canariensis. Homeologous pairs show partial sexual subfunctionalization. We discuss the possibility that gene duplicates created by polyploidization might contribute to resolving sexual antagonism.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:1553-7390
Uncontrolled Keywords:Chromosomes; Diploidy; Disorders of Sex Development; Euphorbiaceae; Polyploidy
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:37876
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:01 Dec 2022 15:09
Last Modified:01 Dec 2022 15:09

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