Study of Sexual-Linked Genes ( and ) on the Performance of Androecious Persimmons ( Thunb.).

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.