In vitro hermaphrodism induction in date palm female flower

Abstract

This study explores and reports on the gain brought to the morphogenetic aptitude of female date palm inflorescences through in vitro hermaphrodism induction. It investigates the main factors involved in the process of sex modification through hormonal induction, such as the floral developmental stage and hormone combination and concentration. It demonstrates that the vestigial stamens (staminodes) of female date palm flowers display a new and high capacity to proliferate under particular in vitro conditions, without blocking carpel's development, leading to morphologically typical hermaphrodite flowers. This de novo activation of repressed stamens was found to occur rapidly. The isolated pollen mother cells appear in the obtained anther's locules and undergo an ordinary microsporogenesis process. The data show that hermaphrodism induction depended heavily on both the growth regulators applied and the flower's developmental stage. They also confirm the early theory that suggests that dioecious plants come from a hermaphrodite ancestor. Such hermaphrodism control can provide new prospects and opportunities for the investigation of the in vitro self-fertilization process. It can also be useful in improving the understanding of the genetic mechanism involved in sex organ development in date palm.

Transcriptome Analysis of Gerbera hybrida Ray Florets: Putative Genes Associated with Gibberellin Metabolism and Signal Transduction

“…The crucial roles of various phytohormones in flower development have been investigated in many studies. For example, Jasmonate (JA) influences stamen development [5], [6], Auxin 2,4-D can reactivate the pistillodes in the staminate flower of date palm, and other hormones can reverse the staminode in the pistillate flower to form fertile stamens [7]. Among these elements, a key hormone in floral opening is gibberellin (GA).…”

Biodiversity, Genetic Diversity, and Genetic Resources of Date Palm

“…Sexual expression in palms is spatially separated at fi ve discrete levels; these are within fl owers (in between fl oral organs), within fl ower clusters (in between fl owers), within infl orescences (in between partial infl orescences), within palms (in between infl orescences), and in between palms. The complexity of sexual expression in palms and its impact on genetic diversity only becomes clear when the spatiotemporal separation of male and female functions is considered as in the date palm (Masmoudi-Allouchi et al 2009 ;Younis et al 2008 ).…”

“…It is assumed that the mixed sexual-clonal propagation system (see Sect. 2.3.2 ) acted on the sexual traits, impacted the genetic structure of populations, and may have resulted in the accumulation of domesticated traits in the date palm (Masmoudi-Allouchi et al 2009 ;Meyer et al 2012 ;Nixon 1951 ). In addition, a critical change in habitat was decisive for the fi nal domestication of the date palm.…”

“…The fruit of Phoenix spp. is a drupe of variable sizes and a single grooved seed (Masmoudi-Allouchi et al 2009 ).…”

“…Sex-specifi c chromosomes have been identifi ed for some date palm cultivars using RAPD and iSSRs (Younis et al 2008 ); others (Elmeer and Mattat 2012 ) identifi ed SSR markers of potential value in sex identifi cation of date palm. Two iSSR markers, linked with fl owering regulation, have been identifi ed and were considered as potential candidate markers that may enhance our understanding of fl ower development and sex determination and identifi cation in date palm (Masmoudi-Allouchi et al 2009 ).…”