title: A simple PCR-based marker to determine sex in aspen.
abstract: The genus Populus features a genetically controlled sex determination system, located on chromosome 19. However, different Populus species vary in the position of the sex-linked region on the respective chromosome and the apparent heterogametic sex, and the precise mechanism of sex determination in Populus is still unknown. Using next generation sequencing of pooled samples of male and female aspens, we identified the aspen homologue of the P. trichocarpa gene Potri.019G047300 ('TOZ19') to be male-specific. While in P. tremuloides, the complete gene is missing in the genome of female plants, a short fragment of the 3'-part of the gene is still present in P. tremula females. The male-specific presence and transcription of TOZ19 was further verified using PCR in various different aspen individuals and RT-PCR expression analysis. TOZ19 is potentially involved in early steps of flower development, and represents an interesting candidate gene for involvement in sex determination in aspen. Regardless of its role as candidate gene, TOZ19 represents an ideal marker for determination of the sex of non-flowering aspen individuals or seedlings.
authors.affiliation: Thünen Institute of Forest Genetics, Grosshansdorf, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pakull
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kersten
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lüneburg
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fladung
mesh_terms: D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D019295:Computational Biology; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D032107:Populus / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: Aspen; Populus tremula; Populus tremuloides; marker; sex