Chromosomal sex determination and heterochromatin structure in date palm |
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Authors: | S Siljak-Yakovlev M Cerbah A Sarr S Benmalek N Bounaga T Coba de la Pena S C Brown |
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Institution: | (1) Laboratoire d'Evolution et Systématique Végetales, CNRS URA 1492, Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 362, F-91405 Orsay Cedex, France;(2) Laboratoire de Botanique, Centre de Recherche Scientifique et Technologique sur les Régions Arides, BP 119, 16000 Algiers-Gare, Algeria;(3) Institut des Sciences Vegetales, CNRS UPR 40, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France;(4) Departamento de Recursos Naturais e Medio Ambiente, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain |
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Abstract: | In the date palm, a dioecious mode (separate male and female individuals) and the late initial reproductive age (5–10 years) are major practical constraints for genetic improvement. Early selection on young seedlings could enhance breeding programmes and generate experimental male and female genetic stocks, but no cytogenetic protocol exists for sex determination in an immature date palm. Here we describe a cytological method based on chromomycin staining which demonstrates the occurrence of sexual chromosomes carrying distinctive nucleolar heterochromatin and thus offers, for the first time, the possibility of identifying male and female individuals by simple analysis of root meristems. This observation has been extended by in situ rDNA hybridization, confocal microscopy and dual-label flow cytometry of nuclei. |
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Keywords: | Sex chromosomes Sex-differentiating chromocentres Heterochromatin In situ hybridization Phoenix dactylifera |
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