1. <b>The control of carpel determinacy pathway leads to sex determination</b> <b>in cucurbits</b>.
- Author
-
Zhang S, Tan FQ, Chung CH, Slavkovic F, Devani RS, Troadec C, Marcel F, Morin H, Camps C, Gomez Roldan MV, Benhamed M, Dogimont C, Boualem A, and Bendahmane A
- Subjects
- Flowers genetics, Flowers growth & development, Meristem metabolism, Plant Breeding, Gene Expression Regulation, Plant, Plant Proteins genetics, Plant Proteins metabolism, Cucurbitaceae genetics, Cucurbitaceae growth & development, Sex Determination Processes
- Abstract
Male and female unisexual flowers evolved from hermaphroditic ancestors, and control of flower sex is useful for plant breeding. We isolated a female-to-male sex transition mutant in melon and identified the causal gene as the carpel identity gene <i>CRABS CLAW (CRC)</i>. We show that the master regulator of sex determination in cucurbits, the transcription factor <i>WIP1</i> whose expression orchestrates male flower development, recruits the corepressor TOPLESS to the <i>CRC</i> promoter to suppress its expression through histone deacetylation. Impairing TOPLESS-WIP1 physical interaction leads to <i>CRC</i> expression, carpel determination, and consequently the expression of the stamina inhibitor, the aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase 7 (<i>CmACS7</i>), leading to female flower development. Our findings suggest that sex genes evolved to interfere with flower meristematic function, leading to unisexual flower development.
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF