The evolution of dimorphic sex chromosomes in the genus Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae)
Final Report Abstract
After more than 100 years of research, the evidence in plants for recombination-suppressed chromosome regions with sexually antagonistic genes remains limited to a few species. Morphologically distinct (heteromorphic) sex chromosomes currently are known from 19 species in four families (Cannabaceae: Cannabis and Humulus, Caryophyllaceae: Silene, Cucurbitaceae: Coccinia, and Pologynaceae: Rumex). In this project, we worked towards establishing the cucurbit species Coccinia grandis as a promising new model for understanding the evolution of plant Y chromosomes. All 29 species of the genus Coccinia are dioecious, and at least C. grandis, has a Y chromosome that is about 2.5 times longer than the X chromosome. We investigated two questions: What led to the great length of the Y chromosome? and What was the pathway of karyotype evolution in Coccinia? We addressed the second question by generating a phylogeny for Coccinia and reconstructing the evolution of the karyotypes of six species closely related to C. grandis (so far, the karyotype of C. grandis is unique). To answer the second question, we enlarged our collection of male and female plants, and began micro-dissecting the Y chromosome (continuing research). A doctoral student in this project also prepared and published a monograph of the genus Coccinia and a generated a clock-dated molecular phylogeny and biogeographic analysis with the goal of placing C. grandis in its geographic-ecological context.
Publications
- 2010. Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae) gains two new species from East Africa, three new synonyms, and one new combination. Kew Bulletin 65: 435-441
Holstein, N., and S. S. Renner
- Sex chromosomes in land plants, with a focus on Cucurbitaceae. Invited seminar at University of Illinois- Urbana-Champaign, 20 Aug 2010
S.S. Renner
- 2011. A dated phylogeny and collection records reveal repeated biome shifts in the African genus Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). BMC Evolutionary Biology 11: 28
Holstein, N., and S. S. Renner
- 2011. Coccinia intermedia - a new Cucurbitaceae species from West Africa. Phytokeys 7: 27-36
Holstein, N., and S. S. Renner
- 2011. Sex chromosomes in land plants. Annual Review of Plant Biology 62: 485-514
Ming, R., A. Bendahmane, and S. S. Renner
- Sex chromosomes in land plants. Invited seminar at the Institute for Plant Breeding, Gatersleben, Germany, 1 April 2011
S.S. Renner
- Sex chromosomes in land plants. Invited seminar in the Dept. of Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 7 Mar. 2011
S.S. Renner
- The evolution of sex chromosomes in land plants. Invited seminar at the Technical University Munich, Weihenstephan, 13 Jan. 2011
S.S. Renner
- Coccinia grandis, the plant with the largest known Y chromosome: Characterizing its male and female karyotypes by FISH. 11th Gatersleben Research Conference
Sousa, Aretuza; Holstein, Norbert; Renner, Susanne
- How does the evolution of sex chromosomes in plants differ from that in animals? Invited seminar at the Center for Macroecology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 23 Mar. 2012
S. S. Renner
- Sex chromosomes in land plants. Invited seminar at the Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Göttingen, 2 Feb. 2012
S. S. Renner
- University of Munich. Evolution, biogeography, and monographic treatment of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). 2012
Norbert Holstein
- 2013. Molecular cytogenetics (FISH, GISH) of Coccinia grandis: A ca. 3 myr-old species of Cucurbitaceae with the largest Y/autosome divergence in flowering plants. Cytogenetic and Genome Research 139(2): 107-18
Sousa, A., J. Fuchs, and S. S. Renner
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1159/000345370) - Sex chromosomes in land plants. Invited seminar at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Dehli, India, 15 Feb. 2013
S. S. Renner
- 2014. The relative and absolute frequencies of angiosperm sexual systems: Dioecy, monoecy, gynodioecy, and an updated online database (American Journal of Botany, Volume 101, Issue 10, October 2014, Pages 1588-1596)
Renner, S. S.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1400196) - University of Munich. Molecular cytogenetics and phylogenetic modeling to study chromosome evolution in the Araceae and sex chromosomes in the Cucurbitaceae, 2014
Aretuza Sousa
