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The'sex ratio' of an oil palm stand is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. This paper presents a review of our current understanding of the sex determination process in oil palm and discusses possible insights that can be gained from other species.
The'sex ratio' of an oil palm stand is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. This paper presents a review of our current understanding of the sex determination process in oil palm and discusses possible insights that can be gained from other species.
The'sex ratio' of an oil palm stand is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. This paper presents a review of our current understanding of the sex determination process in oil palm and discusses possible insights that can be gained from other species.
Environmental regulation of sex determination in oil palm: current knowledge
and insights from other species Hele`ne Adam 1 , Myriam Collin 1 , Frederique Richaud 2 , Thierry Beule 2 , David Cros 3 , Alphonse Omore 4 , Lei Nodichao 4 , Bruno Nouy 5 and James W. Tregear 1, * 1 IRD, 2 CIRAD, IRD/CIRAD Palm Developmental Biology Group, UMR DIADE, Centre IRD, 911 avenue Agropolis, 34394 Montpellier, France, 3 CIRAD, UMR AGAP, 4 INRAB, Station INRAB, BP1, Pobe`, Benin and 5 PalmElit SAS, Parc Agropolis Bt. 14, 2214 Boulevard de la Lironde, 34980 Montferrier sur Lez, France * For correspondence. E-mail james.tregear@ird.fr Received: 16 February 2011 Returned for revision: 9 March 2011 Accepted: 7 April 2011 Published electronically: 28 June 2011 Background The African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is a monoecious species of the palm subfamily Arecoideae. It may be qualied as temporally dioecious in that it produces functionally unisexual male and female inorescences in an alternating cycle on the same plant, resulting in an allogamous mode of reproduction. The sex ratio of an oil palm stand is inuenced by both genetic and environmental factors. In particular, the enhancement of male inorescence production in response to water stress has been well documented. Scope This paper presents a review of our current understanding of the sex determination process in oil palm and discusses possible insights that can be gained from other species. Although some informative phenological studies have been carried out, nothing is as yet known about the genetic basis of sex determination in oil palm, nor the mechanisms by which this process is regulated. Nevertheless new genomics-based techniques, when com- bined with eld studies and biochemical and molecular cytological-based approaches, should provide a new understanding of the complex processes governing oil palm sex determination in the foreseeable future. Current hypotheses and strategies for future research are discussed. Key words: Sex determination, oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, inorescence, monoecious, temporal dioecy, owering. INTRODUCTION The physical separation of fertile male and female reproduc- tive organs on different owers of the same plant or different individuals of the same species is a condition known as dicliny. Diclinous species are estimated to represent approx. 10 % of owering plants (Ainsworth, 2000). It is generally considered that dicliny confers two main advantages: (1) better use of available resources through the specialization of the pollen and ovule producing reproductive organs, and (2) the enhancement of heterosis (hybrid vigour) through the promotion of outcrossing (allogamy). Dicliny can be divided into two main categories: monoecy, in which male (staminate) and female ( pistillate) owers are produced on the same plant; and dioecy, in which single-sex male and female plants exist. Other more complex situations involving the co-occurrence of male, female and bisexual owers or plants are collectively classied as polygamy. Although spatial separation of male and female reproductive organs is employed by many species as a means to achieve outbreeding, a similar result can be achieved by temporal separation. This strategy, referred to by Cruden and Hermann-Parker (1977) as temporal dioecism, was dened as: in essence, a owering sequence which is synchronized so there is little or no overlap between staminate and pistillate phases of an individual plant. In its simplest form, temporal dioecy can be achieved simply by the delayed maturation of either carpels (in the case of protandrous owers) or stamens (in the case of protogynous owers), two variants of the con- dition known as dichogamy. It is interesting to note that many self-incompatible plant species display dichogamous oral development characters, implying that sexual interference factors such as gamete wastage play a part in determining tness and not just the promotion of outbreeding (Barrett, 2002). The palm family (Arecaceae) is a particularly interesting group in which to investigate dicliny and dichogamy, as both are prevalent within this clade (Loo et al., 2006; Weiblen et al., 2000). As regards spatial separation of the sexes, the most common condition in palms is monoecy, which accounts for approx. 65 % of genera in the family (Dranseld et al., 2008) and which dominates in the Arecoideae, the largest palm subfamily. The majority of monoecious palms produce bisexual inorescences, with only a handful of exceptions, notably in the genera Lepidorrachis, Arenga, Wallichia, Wettinia, Marojejya, Attalea and Elaeis (Voeks, 1988; Baker and Hutton, 2006). The African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is the best studied example of temporal dioecy in the palm family, due in particu- lar to its economic importance as the worlds largest source of vegetable oil. Considerable efforts have been devoted over the last half century or so to improving the yield potential of cul- tivated palms and to perfecting the growing conditions necess- ary to realize this potential. Past studies have revealed that the # The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com Annals of Botany 108: 15291537, 2011 doi:10.1093/aob/mcr151, available online at www.aob.oxfordjournals.org
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sex ratio of an oil palm stand is affected by both environ- mental and genetic factors. In this paper, we rst discuss current knowledge of the mode of action of environmental factors on oil palm inorescence development, and then discuss how they might act upon the plants reproductive development to regulate sex determination. I NFLORESCENCE DEVELOPMENT IN OI L PALM As mentioned earlier, the oil palm normally produces func- tionally unisexual male and female inorescences in an alter- nating cycle, thereby minimizing the chances of self-pollination. Macroscopic views of the normal male and female inorescences are shown in Fig. 1. Male and female inorescences are branched and easily distinguishable from their overall structure, the male inorescence bearing a larger number of rachillae (branches) inserted into the rachis (central axis). Another easily recognizable difference between the two sexes is in the form of the rachillae them- selves; in the case of the female inorescence they bear a distal sterile region that develops into a characteristic spine not seen in the male rachilla. The early differentiation of oil palm inorescences was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) by Van Heel et al. (1987) and in our group using SEM and light microscopy on stained tissue sec- tions (Adam et al., 2005). The earliest clear anatomical differ- ence between the two sexes is the greater number of early bracts arising at the base of spikelet primordia in the male inorescence compared with its female equivalent (Van Heel et al., 1987). This reects the larger number of owers borne on the male rachilla and conrms the earlier conclusions of Corley (1976a). A later key difference between the male and female inorescences concerns the arrangement of owers on the rachillae, the staminate owers being borne singly whereas pistillate owers are anked by a pair of abortive accompany- ing staminate owers. The female inorescence thus produces oral triads, a structural arrangement that is dominant (although not universal) in the subfamily Arecoideae. The accompanying staminate owers develop pollen sacs with pro- liferating microsporocytic cells; however, the latter display incomplete development and the ower is shed soon after, before the pistillate ower of the triad has reached maturity (Adam et al., 2005). Both types of inorescence are protected during their development by the prophyll and rst penduncular bract, which are ruptured just before ower maturity is reached. Other peduncular bracts are small, triangular struc- tures which do not envelope the developing inorescence (Dranseld et al., 2008). I NFLORESCENCE DEVELOPMENT I N RELATI ON TO VEGETATIVE GROWTH In favourable growing conditions, an inorescence is initiated in the axil of each leaf of the palm. The rate of leaf emission varies with age, with typically three leaves produced per month in young palms and two per month in the case of older individuals. The development of an oil palm inores- cence between the stages of initiation and ower maturity lasts 23 years for both sexes, the process being initiated soon after seedling establishment. In tropical humid climates with regular rainfall, inores- cence and fruit production is spread evenly throughout the year. From an experimental point of view, this allows the possibility of dissecting mature palms so as to visualize a com- plete series of inorescence developmental stages within the same individual. As a means of cross-referencing between palms, inorescences are usually numbered according to their subtending leaves. Thus, the youngest expanding leaf with separating leaets (and its associated inorescence) is designated as +1, the immediately older leaves being +2, +3, etc., and younger leaves 0, 1, etc. A summary of the key stages of inorescence development in relation to leaf number is shown in Fig. 2. I NSI GHTS I NTO THE CHRONOLOGY OF SEX DETERMI NATI ON FROM FI ELD OBSERVATI ONS Typically, a mature palm will alternate between male and female inorescence production during its lifetime; however, the proportion of time spent in each phase will vary consider- ably depending on both environmental and genetic factors. The sex ratio is normally dened as the ratio of female to total inorescences in a given group of palms. In regions with high and regular rainfall (e.g. Malaysia and Indonesia), oil palm sex ratios tend to vary little throughout the year, in contrast to areas experiencing a marked dry season such as in West Africa, where the sex ratio undergoes extensive uctu- ations. Corley (1976a) noted that in the latter case, the period of lowest sex ratio (high male inorescence production) occurs during the rainy season and speculated that this character is an adaptation against the reduction in airborne pollen density caused by high atmospheric humidity. This illustrates the well- established observation that oil palm sex determination is strongly inuenced by climatic factors, with male inores- cence production being promoted by water decit. Male inorescence production can also be induced arti- cially by defoliating adult plants, a technique which has A B FI G. 1. Macroscopic views of oil palm inorescences: (A) mature female inorescence, (B) mature male inorescence. Scale bars 10 cm. Adam et al. Environmental regulation of sex determination in oil palm 1530
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proved invaluable for increasing pollen production from pisi- fera palms (Durand-Gasselin et al., 1999). The latter are used as the male parent in most breeding programmes as they are homozygous for the Sh thin shell thickness allele and give rise to high oil-yielding tenera palms (Sh/Sh + ) when crossed with a thick-shelled dura (Sh + Sh + ) female parent. It is interesting to note that pisifera palms produce abortive fruit, which place lower demands on the plants resources. As a result, pisifera palms usually remain female when grown in conditions of high and regular water avail- ability, thus creating the problem of limited pollen production for breeding, which can be overcome by defoliation as men- tioned earlier. The exact nature of the stress response under- lying the induction of male inorescence production by defoliation is not yet clear, but current hypotheses will be dis- cussed in more detail below. Beyond the obvious agronomic interest in using defoliation as a means of controlling pollen production, the same approach can also provide a useful experimental system by which to investi- gate the process of sex determination in oil palm. In the context of the studies described here, defoliation can be dened as the pruning of all expanded leaves at their bases so as to remove the entire lamina, the unopened leaves in the spear being cut around 1 m from their base (Durand-Gasselin et al., 1999). Field observations of sex ratio changes in response to defoliation have provided clear indications of the chronology of sex determination and differentiation. The timeline of oil palm inorescence development, as inferred from the effects of defoliation, are summarized in Fig. 3, as reproduced from Hartley (1988) by Durand-Gasselin et al. (1999). It can be seen that the time intervals between the different stages of inor- escence development vary according to the age of the palm, in accordance with the lower rate of leaf emission seen in mature palms compared with young individuals. One important point to note is that sex determination is not the only effect of leaf pruning; the latter treatment also induces inorescence abortion. However, the two effects occur at different phases of develop- ment: whereas abortion is mostly observed for inorescences at stages +4 to +10 (46 months prior to ower maturity), sex determination changes are typically seen in the region of stage 20, approx. 22 months before ower maturity in adult palms (summarized in Durand-Gasselin et al., 1999). As with most aspects of owering, the exact chronology of these effects varies according to palm age. Although it can be Vegetative meristem Individualization of rachis meristem Individualization of floral meristem ( ) Floral development Leaf 20 Leaf 26 Leaf +6 Leaf +15 Leaf +18 Flower maturity Leaf 40 Initiation of floral bracts Leaf +2 Initiation of rachis meristem Leaf 27 Initiation of prophyll and first peduncular bract Initiation of rachilla bract ( ) Leaf 6 Initiation of rachilla meristem () Leaf 2 Individualization of rachilla meristem ( ) Sex determination FI G. 2. Key stages of inorescence development in relation to leaf number. Adam et al. Environmental regulation of sex determination in oil palm 1531
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promoted articially by leaf pruning, inorescence abortion is in fact a commonly observed phenomenon in oil palms. Some evi- dence has been obtained to suggest that inorescence abortion is sex-dependent, by examining the effects of moderate leaf pruning (Corley, 1973). In the latter study, no effect was observed on the sex of inorescences reaching maturity during the rst 3 months after pruning; however, over the following 6 months, the sex ratio was signicantly lowered. This indicates that in the specic case of leaf-pruning-related stress at least, female inorescences undergo a higher rate of abortion than male inorescences. It should be borne in mind that the more extreme stress induced by pruning the laminae of all expanded leaves results in the abortion of inorescences of both sexes. The ability of oil palms to change the sex of the inores- cences they produce in response to environmental factors pro- vides the basis for a useful experimental system to manipulate reproductive development in palms and study its molecular determinants. To date, the character of sex determination per se has not been used by oil palm breeders in genetic improvement programmes, so nothing is known regarding the number or type of genetic loci which might be involved in determining maleness or femaleness. Nevertheless, the selection of genotypes conferring high oil yield has inevitably been accompanied by a general increase in sex ratios, which provides indirect evidence that genetic factors also come into play. Indeed, with palms of highly selected genotypes planted in favourable growing conditions, it is commonly observed that male inorescence production is close to zero in the rst year or two of owering, thus jeopardizing fruit production. For this reason, seed batches of high-yielding genetic crosses are now sometimes supplied mixed with a small proportion of seeds derived from super-male individ- uals. The fact that oil palm sex ratios may be enhanced or reduced depending on genotype, coupled with the fact that a genetic map has been produced for this species (Billotte et al., 2001), raises the interesting possibility of identifying sex determination loci in the future. ENVI RONMENTAL REGULATI ON OF SEX DETERMINATI ON WITHIN AND BEYOND THE ARECACEAE The ability to vary sexual expression in response to the environment provides plants with a means of adjusting resources allocated to ovule and pollen production, thereby conferring adaptive exibility (Korpelainen, 1998). Gender plasticity has been observed in plant species belonging to a wide range of phylogenetic groups. In the case of androdioe- cious populations of Mercurialis annua (Euphorbiaceae), in which male and hermaphrodite plants coexist, progeny sex ratios were found to depend on the density of the parental plants (Dorken and Pannell, 2008). This phenomenon was explained in part by the increased pollen production of her- maphrodite plants when growing at low density, leading to proportionally fewer male plants in the subsequent progeny. Other environmental factors that have been shown to affect sex ratios in plant populations include daylength and light intensity, as illustrated by the monoecious (or sometime poly- gamous) species Atriplex halimus (Chenopodiaceae), which displays increased femaleness under short days and low light irradiance (Talamali et al., 2001, 2003). In the case of the sexually dimorphic woody pioneer species Antirhea borbonica (Rubiaceae), a polliniferous morph was identied and studied (Litrico et al., 2005). It was found to display considerable gender plasticity, almost no fruit-bearing female owers being produced in pioneer populations, whereas in late succes- sion, high fruit-sets were observed (although they were lower than for the female morph). In a clonal context, gender plas- ticity may operate not only in relation to environmental con- ditions but also in relation to the maturation of the plant, as seen in the andromonoecious species Pennisetum typhoides (Poaceae; Sandmeier and Dajoz, 2000) or the monoecious aquatic Sagittaria sagittifolia (Alismataceae; Dorken and Barrett, 2003). In the case of the subdioecious species Urtica dioica (Urticaceae), in which monoecious plants LEAF POSITION 20 10 0 +10 +20 30 40 Adult palms (two leaves emitted per month) Young palms (three leaves emitted per month) 22 months 11 months 55 6 months 75 months LEAF INITIATION SEX DETERMINATION INFLORESCENCE ABORTION FLOWER MATURITY FRUIT MATURITY LEAF OPENING 145 months 55 6 months FI G. 3. Development and sex determination of the oil palm inorescence in relation to palm age [after Hartley (1988), as reproduced by Durand-Gasselin et al. (1999)]. Adam et al. Environmental regulation of sex determination in oil palm 1532
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coexist with female and male individuals, only the former were found to display a variable sex ratio, with different clones of the same genotype varying in the percentage of male owers produced (Glawe and de Jong, 2005). Subsequent studies revealed that the maternal parent strongly contributes to sex ratios, the exact genetic mechanism involved remaining as yet unresolved (Glawe and de Jong, 2007, 2009). Although relatively fewdata are available for the palmfamily, sexual expression has been shown to be inuenced by environ- mental factors not only in oil palm but also in two different species of the monoecious Arecoid genus Attalea. In A. funifera, a study was carried out in Brazil by Voeks (1988) on the relative abundance of the three different inorescence types produced: male with staminate owers, bisexual with a few pistillate and many staminate owers, and female with pistillate and sterile staminate owers. Although bagging exper- iments had revealed that autogamy was possible in the bisexual inorescences, the latter contribute only very weakly to fruit-set, given their lowabundance at the population level (5 %compared with 80 % male and 15 % female inorescences). The data obtained in this study suggested that sexual expression in A. funifera is related to energetic factors, with palms apparently producing only male inorescences in the crowded understorey whereas female expression was observed when they had grown and entered the energy-rich canopy. Reproductive cost measure- ments (estimated via dry weights of inorescence and infructes- cence components) revealed the higher energetic demands of mature female owers and fruit compared with male owers (1 . 6 and 13 . 2 versus 1 . 0 in relative units, respectively), with the production of an initial female inorescence requiring an energy input estimated as over 10 times the annual budget of the youngest mature palms. A second species of Attalea, A. speciosa, was also studied in terms of its gender plasticity (Barot et al., 2005). In this case, the onset of reproduction and sex allocation were compared in three contrasting environments: forest, partially invaded pasture and a pure stand (babassual). Reproduction was found to start at a smaller size in the pasture and pure stand compared with forest. Male owering started at a lower height than female owering in the pasture and pure stand; however, this was not the case in the forest environment. Although several hypotheses were raised to explain these data, it seems probable that the earlier owering observed in more open environments was made possible by the much greater light (and therefore energy resources) available to palms in these habitats. As regards the earlier male owering in pasture/babassual, it was postulated that the lower levels of stored energy in younger palms (compared with larger mature palms in the forest) might be stretched beyond viability by the higher demands of female owering and fruiting. Thus, the delayed female owering of mature pasture/babassual palms might be considered as an adap- tation conferring more efcient energy use and therefore survival. At a more general level, although there is some scope for the optimization of resource allocation to male and female repro- duction in hermaphrodite species by the modulation of pollen and ovule development, the greatest exibility is probably afforded by the monoecious and polygamous conditions, which allow the adjustment of the relative numbers of special- ized male and female owers both within the same plant and between individuals. Within the palm family it seems likely that the gender plasticity of at least some of the other ve tem- porally dioecious genera producing unisexual inorescences (see above) might be subject to environmental regulation. One intriguing case is that of the Madagascan Marojejya darianii: a number of specimens of this species were success- fully grown to maturity on the island of Hawaii, but as yet, after several years of owering, only male inorescence pro- duction has been observed (Marcus, 2010). Although environ- mental factors may play a causal role in cases such as this, it can also be speculated that endogenous factors within the plant that change during its life-cycle progression (e.g. hormone composition), or indeed a combination of the two elements, may be involved. MOLECULAR DETERMI NANTS OF FLOWER AND INFLORESCENCE SEX: CAN WE LEARN FROM OTHER SPECI ES? Dioecy and monoecy appear to have arisen on a large number of occasions during the evolution of owering plants, as witnessed by their wide and fragmented distribution within the Angiosperm tree of life. This suggests that the genetic changes that resulted in the monoecious and dioecious habits are different for the most part in different evolutionary lineages (Ainsworth, 2000). Nevertheless, thanks to compara- tive genomics and evo-devo approaches, it is clear that a wide range of signalling elements that regulate reproductive devel- opment are conserved throughout owering plants. An early indication of this conservation was obtained by comparing the rst two Angiosperms to have their genomes sequenced, Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Izawa et al., 2003). The latter authors carried out a survey of the structural and functional conservation of genes between the two model plants, using owering pathways as an example. This study revealed that a wide range of owering-related genes are structurally con- served between monocots and eudicots. Nevertheless, func- tional divergence appears to have frequently occurred to give novel regulatory mechanisms which distinguish the two model species, this degree of divergence providing a glimpse of the situation in owering plants as a whole. As regards sex determination, although it seems likely that a generalized signalling cascade for ower development has been partially maintained during evolution, the genetic basis of sexual dimorphism per se is likely to vary considerably. From a developmental point of view, this hypothesis is supported by the great variety of ways in which unisexual ower develop- ment is achieved. Examples of the latter, provided by the palm family, include non-initiation of the undesired organ (e.g. the pistil of staminate owers in certain Phytelephas species), early developmental arrest of the undesired organ (e.g. the androecium of pistillate owers in Elaeis guineensis) or incomplete development of the gametophyte (e.g. the androecium of pistillate owers in Rhapidophyllum hystrix) (Uhl and Moore, 1977; Adam et al., 2005; Dranseld et al., 2008). As discussed by Weiblen et al. (2000), dioecy and monoecy have probably arisen independently a number of times since the palm family rst originated; for this reason, the Arecaceae provide an interesting microcosm for studying the evolution of sexual dimorphism in owering plants as a whole. Adam et al. Environmental regulation of sex determination in oil palm 1533
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SEX DETERMI NATI ON MODELS I N ANGIOSPERMS Although approx. 10 % of owering plants produce unisexual owers, relatively few data are available on the genetic basis of sexual dimorphism, whether in dioecious or in monoecious plants. Genome sequences have already been obtained for the dioecious species poplar (Tuskan et al., 2006) and the trioecious papaya (Ming et al., 2008). In the latter case a small male-specic region (MSY) was identied on the Y chromosome and it was proposed that two sex determination genes controlled the sex determination: a feminizing or stamen suppressor gene causing stamen abortion before or at ower inception; and a carpel suppressor gene causing carpel abortion later in ower development (Ming et al., 2007). The most extensively studied dioecious model is that of Silene latifolia, which uses an X/Y-type sex determination mechanism. For this species, a study was made of the pheno- typic effects of X-ray-induced deletions (Lebel-Hardenack et al., 2002), in conjunction with an amplied fragment length polymorphism approach to identify sex determination mutants that had lost male traits. This approach provided data to conrm the classical genetic prediction of three dis- persed male-determining loci on the Y chromosome, one for carpel suppression, one for early stamen development and another for late stamen development. A similar approach was used by Koizumi et al. (2010). In this case C-ion beam radi- ation was used to obtain a Y chromosome lesion that resulted in the production of hermaphrodite owers with a mature gynoecium. Although the identity of the gene or genes respon- sible for each of these activities remains to be determined, complementary studies of sex-specic expression have enabled the identication of a number of genes of interest (Robertson et al., 1997; Scutt et al., 2002; Zluvova et al., 2006) and microdissection techniques have allowed the iso- lation of Y chromosome-located genes (Deliche`re et al., 1999; Matsunaga et al., 2003). Two plant species for which sex determination gene func- tions have been clearly attributed are melon and maize. In the case of the polygamous species melon (Cucumis melo), sex ratios are controlled by allelic compositions at two differ- ent loci. Boualem et al. (2008) showed that the a allele present at the androdioecious locus encoded an ethylene biosynthesis enzyme, CmACS-7, that repressed stamen development in female owers when active. Martin et al. (2009) later showed that the transition from male to female owers in gynoecious lines resulted from the insertion of a transposon (and consequent DNA methylation changes) in the promoter of a zinc nger transcription factor gene, CmWIP1. Expression of CmWIP1, which was abolished in the transpo- son insertion mutant, led to carpel abortion and also indirectly repressed the expression of CmACS-7 to allow stamen develop- ment. Collectively, these data provide an interesting insight into the sex determination process in the Cucurbitaceae and also reveal some of the genetic basis of hormone-dependent sex determination, a common phenomenon in diclinous plant species. Another functionally characterized model is that of the monoecious species maize, which produces morphologically distinct male and female inorescences on the same plant. For this species, a number of tasselseed mutants displaying feminized male owers have been isolated and characterized and a signalling pathway has emerged (Calderon-Urrea and Dellaporta, 1999). It was found that the sex determination genes TASSELSEED1 and TASSELSEED2 are required for the programmed death of pistil cells in the male ower, TASSELSEED1 being a putative upstream regulator of TASSELSEED 2. These two genes were cloned and found to encode, respectively, a lipoxygenase involved in jasmonic acid synthesis and a steroid dehydrogenase (DeLong et al., 1993; Acosta et al., 2009). A third gene, SILKLESS1, of as yet unknown sequence, blocks TASSELSEED pathway- induced cell death in the pistil primordia of primary ear orets. Other studies have implicated the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene RMR6 as a regulator of SILKLESS1 (Parkinson et al., 2007), suggesting crosstalk with epigenetic regulatory pathways. It is also interesting to note that crosstalk was observed with the signalling mechanism determining inorescence branching, itself a sex-linked character (Chuck et al., 2007). The latter authors demonstrated that the sex determination gene TASSELSEED4 encoded a micro-RNA that is able to bind to and regulate the turnover of mRNAs of the TASSELSEED6 gene related to APETALA2 of A. thaliana. Further observations by Hultquist and Dorweiler (2008) led to a wider model which also included the micro-RNA miR156 and target genes of the SQUAMOSA-binding protein box (SPB-box) family. In an evolutionary context, following the discovery of the tasselseed sex determination pathway in maize, several studies were performed with the aim of determining whether all or some of the signalling elements identied might be func- tionally conserved in other plant groups. Overall, the data obtained suggest that although orthologues of the TASSELSEED genes can be easily identied in other species, their functions probably vary even within the same plant family. Thus, although the maize pistil abortion mechanism appears to be conserved in its wild relative Tripsacum dacty- loides (Li et al., 1997), there is little evidence for conservation beyond the subfamily Panicoideae of the Poaceae (Zaitchik et al., 2000; Malcomber and Kellogg, 2006). It is interesting to note that homologues of TASSELSEED2 identied in Silene latifolia and A. thaliana displayed male-specic expression; however, in both cases, this expression was observed in the tapetum rather than in the gynoecium primor- dium as in maize (Lebel-Hardenack et al., 1997). In addition to the tasselseed pathway, maize has also yielded informative data on the likely role of plant hormones in the sexual differentiation process. Bensen et al. (1995) character- ized the ANTHER EAR1 (AN1) gene, mutations of which result in both reduced plant height and the development of perfect owers on normally pistillate ears. It was postulated that the AN1 gene encoded a kaurene synthase A enzyme involved in gibberellin biosynthesis, which explained the observed modulation of phenotype severity in response to gib- berellin application. A further demonstration of the involve- ment of hormones in the sexual differentiation process in maize was obtained by Young et al. (2004) and Pineda Rodo et al. (2008), who demonstrated that increases in biologically active cytokinin levels achieved by genetic transformation Adam et al. Environmental regulation of sex determination in oil palm 1534
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led to the abolition of pistil abortion and the appearance of the tasselseed phenotype. As regards the question of sex determination in oil palm, the lack of a widely conserved pathway for this key developmental process amongst owering plants suggests that at best only part of the knowledge gained in model plants can be transposed directly to the Arecaceae. In terms of phylogenetic relationships, the Poaceae are clearly the closest family for which in-depth knowledge has been obtained, through studies on maize. The latter species is therefore a useful starting point from which to initiate searches for palm orthologues of key genes previously shown to be involved in sex differentiation, notably those ident- ied via the tasselseed mutants. The increasing bodyof genomic sequence data now becoming available for palms, including the date palm draft sequence (Al-Dous et al., 2011), will prove very useful in this connection. TOWARDS A MODEL TO EXPLAIN SEX DETERMI NATION IN OI L PALM The fact that oil palm sex determination is a complex process is amply demonstrated by the complexity of phenological information obtained from plants growing in the eld. Although the currently available data do not allow a precise model to be formulated to explain how oil palm sex determi- nation is regulated, we can nevertheless identify various factors of importance and propose a possible framework for their interactions. At least four different types of factor can be identied that might participate in sex determination and differentiation: abiotic factors (e.g. water stress), metabolic factors (e.g. carbon reserves), hormone status and genetic factors. The masculinizing effects of drought conditions are already well known; however, the physiological and genetic bases of this induced developmental change remain to be elu- cidated. In one of the earliest publications to mention the subject of gender plasticity in oil palm, Beirnaert (1935) pos- tulated that the ratio of carbon assimilation to nitrogen absorp- tion was the key factor determining the sex ratio. This hypothesis can be reconciled with the observed effects of drought if the lowering of photosynthesis in conditions of water stress is taken into account. Other factors affecting the metabolic status of palms, including the effects of high-density planting, fruit pruning and the defoliation of neighbouring palms, are all compatible with the notion that higher sex ratios are associated with higher levels of carbon assimilates (Sparnaaij, 1960). Compared with owering plants as a whole, oil palm exhibits relatively low phenotypic plasticity in terms of its overall architecture; transitory carbon reserves therefore provide a more exible means by which to buffer sourcesink imbalances associated with climate variability in this species (Legros et al., 2009c). The latter authors per- formed a comparative study between oil palms at two different sites in Indonesia with or without a dry season; data were also obtained on the effects of fruit pruning and photoperiod vari- ation (Legros et al., 2009a, b). One of the main elements revealed by this work was that sourcesink imbalances in oil palm were buffered principally by uctuations in non- structural carbohydrates in the stem, which consisted mostly of glucose and starch. Of these two components, starch was identied as a major physiological buffer of seasonal sourcesink imbalances, but glucose was not (Legros et al., 2009c). Interestingly, however, glucose levels were found to decrease progressively in response to fruit pruning over the 22-month period of study (Legros et al., 2009b). As regards the possible involvement of hormones in oil palm sex determination, some indications were obtained by using the experimental strategy of applying growth regulators to young palms grown in large polythene bags (Corley, 1976b). In the latter study, the auxin NAA (a-naphthyleneacetic acid) was found to promote female inorescence production; however, this effect was not observed until 24 months after the end of treat- ment, whereas sex differentiation was expected to take place 1622 months before anthesis. For this reason, the feminizing effect was assumed to be indirect. In the case of ethephon, the predominant effect was to delay owering, albeit with a statisti- cally insignicant lowering of the sex ratio. Treatment with gib- berellic acid, however, was shown to signicantly increase the production of male inorescences and reduce production of female inorescences within the expected time frame; gibberel- lins are thus likely to playa role in the oil palmsex determination process. It is interesting to note that a masculinizing effect of gibberellic acid treatment has also been observed in cucumber (Fuchs et al., 1977), whereas in maize, a feminizing effect is observed with this type of treatment (Dellaporta and Calderon-Urrea, 1994). These opposing effects observed in different species no doubt reect the diversity of sex- determining mechanisms that have evolved in owering plants, even if some regulatory modules appear to be structurally conserved. Given the relatively distant phylogenetic relation- ships between the Arecaceae and the various species for which Water availability Photosynthesis Starch Hormone status Glucose Genetic factors Indeterminate inflorescence Female inflorescence Male inflorescence FI G. 4. Possible modes of interaction of factors affecting inorescence sex in oil palm. Adam et al. Environmental regulation of sex determination in oil palm 1535
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functional sex determination studies have been performed, it is clear that prior conceptions need to be avoided when tackling the complex issue of how this process is regulated in oil palm. By combining the various data discussed above, a basic fra- mework to explain the interactions between the various par- ameters of importance in oil palm sex determination can be proposed (Fig. 4). The schema shown draws on mostly pheno- logical and physiological data and suggests points of inter- action with genetic factors that might be associated with the contrasting behaviour of palms of different genotype in the same environmental conditions. A number of questions remain, regarding notably the modes of interaction between metabolism, hormone status and the sex determination process per se. The available evidence, along with general per- spectives on plant responses to environmental change, point towards a role for hormones as an intermediary signalling element between water balance and sex determination, with metabolic factors possibly acting upstream of the hormone molecule(s). The model shown is a rst attempt to draw all these elements together and will now need to be validated, adjusted and rened by combining new functional genomic and metabolomic approaches with phenological observations in the eld. As a rst step in this direction, we are currently characterizing the transcriptome of the oil palm inorescence, with a view to identifying points of divergence in the gene expression patterns associated with male and female develop- ment. This work will be combined with hormone studies on the same material, and ultimately the genes of interest display- ing expression patterns related to male or female differen- tiation will be studied in a more complex phenological context. This overall approach should also help to shed light on events further upstream (i.e. mediating the response to environmental conditions) and on the role of metabolic factors in the sex determination process. CONCLUSI ONS In this review, we have presented and discussed the wide ranging but often fragmentary data currently available on the regulation of sex determination in oil palm. New efforts cur- rently being devoted to this eld will no doubt shed light on how oil palm regulates inorescence sex in response to its environment and reveal to what extent the genetic and physio- logical elements identied in other species are conserved. Due to various characteristics that typify palms in general (notably their large size and long life cycle), research on oil palm ow- ering is complicated but nevertheless vital to understand the biology of this important crop plant. The knowledge gained should also in the longer term improve our understanding of the evolution of sex determination in the Arecaceae as a whole. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We gratefully acknowledge nancial support for this work via a grant from PalmElit SAS and institutional funding from IRD and Cirad. LI TERATURE CI TED Acosta IF, Laparra H, Romero SP, et al. 2009. tasselseed1 is a lipoxygenase affecting jasmonic acid signaling in sex determination of maize. Science 323: 262265. Adam H, Jouannic S, Escoute J, Duval Y, Verdeil JL, Tregear JW. 2005. Reproductive developmental complexity in the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). American Journal of Botany 92: 18361852. Ainsworth C. 2000. Boys and girls come out to play: the molecular biology of dioecious plants. 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