title: Plant genetics. A Y-chromosome-encoded small RNA acts as a sex determinant in persimmons.
abstract: In plants, multiple lineages have evolved sex chromosomes independently, providing a powerful comparative framework, but few specific determinants controlling the expression of a specific sex have been identified. We investigated sex determinants in the Caucasian persimmon, Diospyros lotus, a dioecious plant with heterogametic males (XY). Male-specific short nucleotide sequences were used to define a male-determining region. A combination of transcriptomics and evolutionary approaches detected a Y-specific sex-determinant candidate, OGI, that displays male-specific conservation among Diospyros species. OGI encodes a small RNA targeting the autosomal MeGI gene, a homeodomain transcription factor regulating anther fertility in a dosage-dependent fashion. This identification of a feminizing gene suppressed by a Y-chromosome-encoded small RNA contributes to our understanding of the evolution of sex chromosome systems in higher plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA. Laboratory of Pomology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akagi
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Isabelle M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pomology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. rtao@kais.kyoto-u.ac.jp lcomai@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Ryutaro
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA. rtao@kais.kyoto-u.ac.jp lcomai@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Comai
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D032461:Chromosomes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D029788:Diospyros / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018749:RNA, Plant; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering