Floral Ontogeny and Sex Determination in Monoecious-type Persimmons

Abstract

Patterns of floral differentiation were studied in two monoecious-type Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) cultivars Hana-gosho and Kakiyama-gaki. In both cultivars, the pistillate and staminate floral primordium started to differentiate in early June, and differentiation progressed until August, when the sepal primordia in pistillate flowers and petal primordia of staminate flowers had become evident. The buds then entered a quiescent, overwintering state. Thus, flower sex of monoecious-type persimmons was determined at a relatively early stage of floral development. Moreover, in both cultivars, sex differentiation was associated with previous history of the current season's shoots. Current season's shoots that bore pistillate flowers differentiated pistillate buds (mixed buds from which pistillate flowers emerge) at significantly higher rates than for shoots that bore staminate flowers. Similarly, shoots that bore staminate flowers produced staminate buds (mixed buds from which staminate flowers emerge) at a higher percentage than shoots that had borne pistillate flowers. With 'Hana-gosho', the flower type was also predictable with fair accuracy by bud position on the current season's shoot, i.e., pistillate flowers emerged from distal mixed buds, whereas staminate flowers arose predominantly from basal buds.

Gene networks orchestrated by MeGI: a single‐factor mechanism underlying sex determination in persimmon

“…The cytokinin‐related pathway may be important for gynoecium differentiation in male and female persimmon flowers. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that treating male persimmon flowers with cytokinin leads to the production of hermaphroditic flowers (Yonemori et al ., ).…”

“…The treatment of male flowers with exogenous cytokinins often induces the development of gynoecia in some dioecious or monoecious plants, such as wild grape ( Vitis amurensis ) (Wang et al ., ), kiwifruit ( Actinidia spp.) (Akagi et al ., ), and Oriental persimmon ( D. kaki ) (Yonemori et al ., ). Genes encoding regulators of sex expression have recently been gradually unveiled.…”

Validation of a male‐linked gene locus (OGI) for sex identification in persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) and its application in F1 progeny

“…); (iii) monoecious type (bearing both male and female flowers), such as ‘Taishuu’ and ‘Zenjimaru’ (Yonemori et al. ); and (iv) trimonoecious type (bearing both bisexual and unisexual flowers), such as ‘Kubogata Obishi’ and ‘Meotogaki’. In addition, some pistillate‐type persimmons can occasionally generate male flowers, such as ‘Fuyuu’ and ‘Jirou’ (Yakushiji et al.…”

“…The bisexual (hermaphrodite) flowers of cultivated persimmon are usually derived from staminate flowers and bear much smaller fruits than normal female flowers (George et al 1997). Thus, based on the sexuality of cultivated persimmon in the flower level, the plant can be categorized into four types at the individual level regarding plant sexuality (Dellaporta and Calderon-Urrea 1993): (i) pistillate type (bearing female flowers only), such as 'Youhou' and 'Mopanshi'; (ii) staminate type (bearing male flowers only), only found in the Dabie Mountain area, central China (Xu et al 2008, Zhang et al 2009, Huang et al 2013); (iii) monoecious type (bearing both male and female flowers), such as 'Taishuu' and 'Zenjimaru' (Yonemori et al 1993); and (iv) trimonoecious type (bearing both bisexual and unisexual flowers), such as 'Kubogata Obishi' and 'Meotogaki'. In addition, some pistillate-type persimmons can occasionally generate male flowers, such as 'Fuyuu' and 'Jirou' (Yakushiji et al 1995), as well as 'Luotian Tianshi' and 'Eshi 1' (Table 1).…”

Selected primary and secondary metabolites in fresh persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.): A review of analytical methods and current knowledge of fruit composition and health benefits

“…Diospyros kaki Thunb., a deciduous, hardy, long-living tree has a complex sex expression, since it may bear only pistillate flowers, or both pistillate and staminate flowers, or hermaphroditic flowers together with pistillate and staminate flowers (Yonemori, Sugiura, Tanaka, & Kameda, 1993). The marketed fruits (yellow-reddish berries weighing about 300 g) derive from female flowers, since those originating from hermaphrodite flowers are undersized.…”