Wang Liyuan, Han Weijuan, Diao Songfeng, Suo Yujing, Li Huawei, Mai Yini, Wang Yiru, Sun Peng, Fu Jianmin
Key Laboratory of Non-Timber Forest Germplasm Enhancement & Utilization of State Administration of Forestry and Grassland, Non-Timber Forestry Research and Development Center, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Zhengzhou 450003, China.
Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China.
Plants (Basel). 2021 Feb 18;10(2):390. doi: 10.3390/plants10020390.
It is reported that the production of floral sexual phenotype in hexaploid monoecious persimmon () is closely related to a pseudogene called , and a short interspersed nuclear element (SINE)-like insertion (named ) in the promoter leads to the gene silence. As a result, DNA methylation level of promoter determines the development of male or female flowers. However, the molecular mechanism in androecious , which only bear male flowers, remains elusive. Here, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), molecular cloning, and bisulfite PCR sequencing technique were carried out using 87 materials, including 56 androecious resources, 15 monoecious, and 16 gynoecious cultivars, to investigate the performance of and on the specific androecious type of in China. In conclusion, the insertion was exactly located in the promoter region, and the gene and the sequence were existing and conserved in androecious . Meanwhile, we also demonstrated that the gene was widespread in our investigated samples. Ultimately, our result convincingly provided evidence that the low expression of is probably ascribed to the presence of displaying strong methylation in the promoter, and low expression of as well as high DNA methylation level, in the promoter was closely connected with the production of male flowers; this result was consistent with the monoecious persimmon model. Our findings provide predominant genetic aspects for investigation into androecious , and future perfecting the sex-determining mechanisms in persimmon.
据报道，六倍体雌雄同株柿（）花性别的产生与一个名为的假基因密切相关，并且在启动子中的一个短散在核元件（SINE）样插入（命名为）导致该基因沉默。因此，启动子的DNA甲基化水平决定了雄花或雌花的发育。然而，仅开雄花的雄株的分子机制仍不清楚。在此，利用87份材料，包括56份雄株资源、15份雌雄同株和16份雌株品种，进行了实时定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）、分子克隆和亚硫酸氢盐PCR测序技术，以研究和在中国特定雄株类型中的表现。总之，插入正好位于启动子区域，并且基因和序列在雄株中存在且保守。同时，我们还证明了基因在我们研究的样本中广泛存在。最终，我们的结果令人信服地提供了证据，即的低表达可能归因于在启动子中显示出强甲基化的存在，并且启动子中的低表达以及高DNA甲基化水平与雄花的产生密切相关；这一结果与雌雄同株柿模型一致。我们的发现为研究雄株提供了主要的遗传方面，并为未来完善柿的性别决定机制提供了依据。
