Gibberellin Disrupts Hormonal Homeostasis and Anther Integrity to Trigger Sex Reversal in Spinach
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Spinach is a dioecious vegetable and an excellent model for investigating plant sex differentiation. Exogenous gibberellin treatment induced sepal hypoplasia and sex reversal, converting 42% of stamens into pistils in male plants. Transcriptome analysis identified 112 male-biased genes enriched in stamen and pollen development, while hormone profiling revealed coordinated changes in GA, cytokinins, auxin, jasmonic acid, and abscisic acid. Functional assays demonstrated that silencing SpAMS or SpPGIP caused extensive carpelization, and in situ hybridization localized their expression to developing anthers. Dual-luciferase assays confirmed that SpAMS directly activates the B-class gene SpPI, and genomic mapping placed SpAMS in the pseudo-autosomal region of the Y chromosome. These results indicate that GA disrupts hormonal homeostasis and anther wall integrity, while the SpAMS–SpPI pathway regulates tapetal development to maintain male identity. Our findings identify SpAMS as a key male-promoting factor in spinach and provide a framework for elucidating sex determination mechanisms in dioecious plants.
DOI: 10.3390/ijms26199505
Authors: Tengqi Wang, Ehsan Khalid, Haoming Mao, Yihan Tong, Xinyu Xue, Yuru Tang, Lingmin Cai, Ray Ming
Institution: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Language: English
Topic: Plant Reproductive Biology
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,499
OpenAlex ID: W4414653743