SynthesisNature plants2021
Plant sex chromosomes defy evolutionary models of expanding recombination suppression and genetic degeneration.
Synthesis in Nature plants, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers.
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Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed.
- Haplotype-resolved genome assembly of femaleHorticulture research · 2026Article
- Balanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies the ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Haplotype-resolved genome assembly of a male Dioscorea alata cultivar reveals the structure and evolution of young sex chromosomes.The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology · 2026Article
- A haplotype-resolved nutmeg genome reveals XY sex chromosome evolution and enables molecular sexing.Communications biology · 2026Article
- An X-linked sex determination mechanism in cannabis and hop.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Sex chromosome evolution mediated by a large inversion and a possible switch of the sex determination gene.Genome biology · 2026Article
- Recurrent sex chromosome turnover mediated by distinct ARR17 and PISTILLATA duplications in willows.Genome biology · 2026Article
- Two independent origins of XY sex chromosomes in Asparagus.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Sexes Are Polymorphisms: Describing and Understanding Sexual Diversity as Phenotypic Variation.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Review
- The architecture of resilience: a genome assembly of Myrothamnus flabellifolia sheds light on desiccation tolerance and sex determination.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Balanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies an ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Convergent evolution of sex chromosomes in two palm species, Phoenix dactylifera and Kerriodoxa elegans.Annals of botany · 2025Article
- Reversibility of sex changes in the plant kingdom: more important than we thought?Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025Review
- Distinct haplotypes and reversed dominance at a single-gene balanced polymorphism controlling heterodichogamy in two genera of wingnuts.Current biology : CB · 2025Article
- Genome Architecture and Speciation in Plants and Animals.Molecular ecology · 2025Review
- Evolution of Sex-Biased Gene Expression During Transitions to Separate Sexes in the Silene Genus.Molecular biology and evolution · 2025Article
- The Tree of Sex consortium: a global initiative for studying the evolution of reproduction in eukaryotes.Journal of evolutionary biology · 2025Article
- An X-linked sex determination mechanism in cannabis and hop.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- The evolution of separate sexes in waterhemp is associated with surprising chromosomal diversity and complexity.PLoS biology · 2025Article
- Development and application of sex-specific indel markers for Hippophae salicifolia based on third-generation sequencing.BMC plant biology · 2025Article
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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2 authors.
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Abstract
Hundreds of land plant lineages have independently evolved separate sexes in either gametophytes (dioicy) or sporophytes (dioecy), but 43% of all dioecious angiosperms are found in just 34 entirely dioecious clades, suggesting that their mode of sex determination evolved a long time ago. Here, we review recent insights on the molecular mechanisms that underlie the evolutionary change from individuals that each produce male and female gametes to individuals specializing in the production of just one type of gamete. The canonical model of sex chromosome evolution in plants predicts that two sex-determining genes will become linked in a sex-determining region (SDR), followed by expanding recombination suppression, chromosome differentiation and, ultimately, degeneration. Experimental work, however, is showing that single genes function as master regulators in model systems, such as the liverwort Marchantia and the angiosperms Diospyros and Populus. In Populus, this type of regulatory function has been demonstrated by genome editing. In other systems, including Actinidia, Asparagus and Vitis, two coinherited factors appear to independently regulate female and male function, yet sex chromosome differentiation has remained low. We discuss the best-understood systems and evolutionary pathways to dioecy, and present a meta-analysis of the sizes and ages of SDRs. We propose that limited sexual conflict explains why most SDRs are small and sex chromosomes remain homomorphic. It appears that models of increasing recombination suppression with age do not apply because selection favours mechanisms in which sex determination depends on minimal differences, keeping it surgically precise.
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