Multiple CMS-restorer gene polymorphism in gynodioecious Plantago coronopus

The mode of inheritance of the male sterility trait is crucial for understanding the evolutionary dynamics of the sexual system gynodioecy, which is the co-occurrence of female and hermaphrodite plants in natural populations. Both cytoplasmic (CMS) and nuclear (restorer) genes are known to be involv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Heredity 2004-08, Vol.93 (2), p.175-181
Main Authors: Damme, J.M.M. van, Hundscheid, M.P.J, Ivanovic, S, Koelewijn, H.P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Crosses, Genetic
crossing
Cytogenetics
Cytoplasm - genetics
cytoplasmic male sterility
dioecy
Ecology
evolution
Evolutionary Biology
Fertility
gene segregation
genes
Genes, Plant - genetics
genetic polymorphism
gynodioecy
Human Genetics
Ireland
lanceolata l
maize
Male sterility
mitochondrial genome
Natural populations
Netherlands
original-article
Plant Genetics and Genomics
Plantago - genetics
Plantago coronopus
Polymorphism, Genetic
Reproduction - genetics
restorer lines
Sex Factors
Sex Ratio
thymus-vulgaris l
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Summary:The mode of inheritance of the male sterility trait is crucial for understanding the evolutionary dynamics of the sexual system gynodioecy, which is the co-occurrence of female and hermaphrodite plants in natural populations. Both cytoplasmic (CMS) and nuclear (restorer) genes are known to be involved. Theoretical models usually assume a limited number of CMS genes with each a single restorer gene, while reality is more complex. In this study, it is shown that in the gynodioecious species Plantago coronopus two new CMS-restorer polymorphisms exist in addition to the two that were already known, which means four CMS-restorer systems at the species level. Furthermore, three CMS types were shown to co-occur within a single population. All new CMS types showed a multilocus system for male fertility restoration, in which both recessive and dominant restorer alleles occur. Our finding of more than two co-occurring CMS-restorer systems each with multiple restorer genes raises the question how this complex of male sterility systems is maintained in natural populations.
ISSN:0018-067X
1365-2540
DOI:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800490