Abstract
Sex-ratio bias in seeds of dioecious <em>Rumex</em> species with sex chromosomes is an interesting and still unsettled issue. To resolve gender among seeds of <em>R. acetosa</em> and <em>R. thyrsiflorus</em> (two species with an XX/XY1Y2 sex chromosome system), this work applied a PCR-based method involving DNA markers located on Y chromosomes. Both species showed female-biased primary sex ratios, with female bias greater in <em>R. acetosa</em> than in <em>R. thyrsiflorus</em>. The observed predominance of female seeds is consistent with the view that the female biased sex ratios in <em>Rumex </em>are conditioned not only postzygotically but also prezygotically.
Highlights
Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a dioecious plant with sex chromosomes (XX in females, XY1Y2 in males) (Parker and Clark 1991; Mosiołek et al 2005)
R. thyrsiflorus PCR with primers RAY-f and RAY-r was carried out using DNA from leaves of 10 male and 10 female plants to check whether these primers are male-specific in this species (Fig. 1a)
We confirmed the usefulness of the RAY-f and RAY-r primers developed by Korpelainen (2002) for sexing seeds of R. acetosa, and showed that the same primers are effective for determining gender in R. thyrsiflorus
Summary
Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a dioecious plant with sex chromosomes (XX in females, XY1Y2 in males) (Parker and Clark 1991; Mosiołek et al 2005). Female-biased sex ratios have been observed in natural populations of this species (for review see Korpelainen 2002; Błocka-Wandas et al 2007). Similar aberrations are reported for some other species with the same sex chromosome system, belonging to the Rumex sect. Acetosa (Żuk 1963; Rychlewski and Zarzycki 1981; Stehlik and Barrett 2005). Acetosa has drawn the attention of many researchers They have suggested different mechanisms to explain the higher frequency of females in populations: mortality of male-determining pollen during early gametophyte development, certation (competition between X- and Y-bearing gametophytes), differences between the sexes in germinability, and higher mortality of male embryos and plants (Correns 1928; Żuk 1970; Rychlewski and Zarzycki 1986; Korpelainen 2002; Stehlik and Barrett 2006; Stehlik et al 2008)
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