Developmental innovation of inferior ovaries and flower sex orchestrated by KNOX1 in cucurbits

IF 15.8 1区生物学 Q1 PLANT SCIENCES

Nature Plants Pub Date : 2025-04-01 DOI:10.1038/s41477-025-01950-w

Zhaonian Dong, Xiaolin Liu, Xing Guo, Xun Liu, Bowen Wang, Wenwen Shao, Caihuan Tian, Yingying Zheng, Qiong Yu, Liyuan Zhong, Jinjing Sun, Shengkang Li, Tongxu Xin, Bohan Zhang, Tao Yang, Haorong Lu, Jocelyn K. C. Rose, William J. Lucas, Xun Xu, Sanwen Huang, Huan Liu, Xueyong Yang

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Abstract

In flowering plants, inferior ovaries are key morphological innovations that evolved multiple times from superior ovaries to protect female parts of the flower. However, the developmental mechanisms underlying inferior ovary formation remain largely unknown. Comparative spatial transcriptome mapping and cell lineage reconstructions in developing floral buds of cucumber and tomato, which have inferior and superior ovaries, respectively, revealed that inferior ovaries develop from accelerated receptacle growth resulting from the continuous activity of meristematic stems cells at the base of the cucumber floral organs. Genetic knockout of a receptacle-specific KNOX1 transcription factor in cucumber caused arrest in receptacle growth and yielded bisexual flowers with superior ovaries similar to those of tomato. Here we provide developmental and mechanistic insights into inferior ovary formation and sex determination in cucurbits.

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由KNOX1介导的瓜类下子房发育创新和花性

在开花植物中，下子房是由上子房多次进化而来的关键形态创新，用于保护花的雌性部分。然而，下卵巢形成的发育机制在很大程度上仍然未知。通过对黄瓜和番茄下生子房和上生子房花蕾的空间转录组定位和细胞系重建分析，揭示了下生子房是由黄瓜花器官基部分生干细胞持续活跃的花托加速生长而形成的。基因敲除黄瓜花托特异性KNOX1转录因子导致花托生长停滞，并产生与番茄相似的双性花，其子房上凸。在这里，我们提供发育和机制的见解下卵巢形成和性别决定的葫芦。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Nature Plants PLANT SCIENCES-

CiteScore

25.30

自引率

2.20%

发文量

196

期刊介绍： Nature Plants is an online-only, monthly journal publishing the best research on plants — from their evolution, development, metabolism and environmental interactions to their societal significance.