Identification of sex-linked markers in the sexually cryptic coco de mer: are males and females produced in equal proportions?

Lodoicea maldivica (coco de mer) is a long-lived dioecious palm in which male and female plants are visually indistinguishable when immature, only becoming sexually dimorphic as adults, which in natural forest can take as much as 50 years. Most adult populations in the Seychelles exhibit biased sex...

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Autores principales: Morgan, Emma J., Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher, Edwards, Peter J., Scharmann, Mathias, Widmer, Alex, Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke, Kettle, Christopher J.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/108086
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author Morgan, Emma J.
Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher
Edwards, Peter J.
Scharmann, Mathias
Widmer, Alex
Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke
Kettle, Christopher J.
author_browse Edwards, Peter J.
Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke
Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher
Kettle, Christopher J.
Morgan, Emma J.
Scharmann, Mathias
Widmer, Alex
author_facet Morgan, Emma J.
Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher
Edwards, Peter J.
Scharmann, Mathias
Widmer, Alex
Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke
Kettle, Christopher J.
author_sort Morgan, Emma J.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Lodoicea maldivica (coco de mer) is a long-lived dioecious palm in which male and female plants are visually indistinguishable when immature, only becoming sexually dimorphic as adults, which in natural forest can take as much as 50 years. Most adult populations in the Seychelles exhibit biased sex ratios, but it is unknown whether this is due to different proportions of male and female plants being produced or to differential mortality. In this study, we developed sex-linked markers in Lodoicea using ddRAD sequencing, enabling us to reliably determine the gender of immature individuals. We screened 589 immature individuals to explore sex ratios across life stages in Lodoicea. The two sex-specific markers resulted in the amplification of male-specific bands (Lm123977 at 405 bp and Lm435135 at 130 bp). Our study of four sub-populations of Lodoicea on the islands of Praslin and Curieuse revealed that the two sexes were produced in approximately equal numbers, with no significant deviation from a 1:1 ratio before the adult stage. We conclude that sex in Lodoicea is genetically determined, suggesting that Lodoicea has a chromosomal sex determination system in which males are the heterogametic sex (XY) and females are homogametic (XX). We discuss the potential causes for observed biased sex ratios in adult populations, and the implications of our results for the life history, ecology and conservation management of Lodoicea.
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spelling CGSpace1080862025-11-11T18:47:48Z Identification of sex-linked markers in the sexually cryptic coco de mer: are males and females produced in equal proportions? Morgan, Emma J. Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher Edwards, Peter J. Scharmann, Mathias Widmer, Alex Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke Kettle, Christopher J. lodoicea maldivica conservation agriculture reproductive behaviour sex ratio agricultura de conservación comportamiento reproductivo proporción de lo sexos Lodoicea maldivica (coco de mer) is a long-lived dioecious palm in which male and female plants are visually indistinguishable when immature, only becoming sexually dimorphic as adults, which in natural forest can take as much as 50 years. Most adult populations in the Seychelles exhibit biased sex ratios, but it is unknown whether this is due to different proportions of male and female plants being produced or to differential mortality. In this study, we developed sex-linked markers in Lodoicea using ddRAD sequencing, enabling us to reliably determine the gender of immature individuals. We screened 589 immature individuals to explore sex ratios across life stages in Lodoicea. The two sex-specific markers resulted in the amplification of male-specific bands (Lm123977 at 405 bp and Lm435135 at 130 bp). Our study of four sub-populations of Lodoicea on the islands of Praslin and Curieuse revealed that the two sexes were produced in approximately equal numbers, with no significant deviation from a 1:1 ratio before the adult stage. We conclude that sex in Lodoicea is genetically determined, suggesting that Lodoicea has a chromosomal sex determination system in which males are the heterogametic sex (XY) and females are homogametic (XX). We discuss the potential causes for observed biased sex ratios in adult populations, and the implications of our results for the life history, ecology and conservation management of Lodoicea. 2020-02-01 2020-04-28T15:32:39Z 2020-04-28T15:32:39Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/108086 en Open Access application/pdf Oxford University Press Morgan, E.J.; Kaiser-Bunbury, C.; Edwards, P.J.; Scharmann, M.; Widmer, A.; Fleischer-Dogley, F.; Kettle, C.J. (2020) Identification of sex-linked markers in the sexually cryptic coco de mer: are males and females produced in equal proportions? AoB PLANTS 12(1) 9 p. ISSN: 2041-2851
spellingShingle lodoicea maldivica
conservation agriculture
reproductive behaviour
sex ratio
agricultura de conservación
comportamiento reproductivo
proporción de lo sexos
Morgan, Emma J.
Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher
Edwards, Peter J.
Scharmann, Mathias
Widmer, Alex
Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke
Kettle, Christopher J.
Identification of sex-linked markers in the sexually cryptic coco de mer: are males and females produced in equal proportions?
title Identification of sex-linked markers in the sexually cryptic coco de mer: are males and females produced in equal proportions?
title_full Identification of sex-linked markers in the sexually cryptic coco de mer: are males and females produced in equal proportions?
title_fullStr Identification of sex-linked markers in the sexually cryptic coco de mer: are males and females produced in equal proportions?
title_full_unstemmed Identification of sex-linked markers in the sexually cryptic coco de mer: are males and females produced in equal proportions?
title_short Identification of sex-linked markers in the sexually cryptic coco de mer: are males and females produced in equal proportions?
title_sort identification of sex linked markers in the sexually cryptic coco de mer are males and females produced in equal proportions
topic lodoicea maldivica
conservation agriculture
reproductive behaviour
sex ratio
agricultura de conservación
comportamiento reproductivo
proporción de lo sexos
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/108086
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