Sex organ determination and differentiation in the dioecious plant Melandrium album ( Silene latifolia ): a cytological and histological analysis

Abstract

Melandrium album (Silene alba) is a dioecious plant with heteromorphic sex chromosomes (XY system). Sexual dimorphism is a result of developmental blocks in male or female reproductive organ formation within young bipotential flower buds. Progress in understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms controlling sex determination in this species relies on a detailed description of developmental timing in the two sexes, with emphasis on those early stages during which sexual dimorphism is established. We used a combination of histological and scanning electron microscopy analysis to refine the comparative study and description of the staging of male compared to female flower development. We show that (1) female dimorphism results from modifications in flower meristem organisation, namely a sudden arrest of cell divisions in whorl 4 of male flowers at the time when meristem partitioning is achieved between whorls 3 and 4, and (2) male dimorphism is part of the stamen differentiation process corresponding to stamen arrest at the early sporogenous stage in female flowers. Thus, Melandrium is a natural double ”mutant” that is affected in very early and distinct processes of reproductive organ differentiation. Our results are used to discuss the most likely nature of the specific functions controlling sexual dimorphism in Melandrium.