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In vitro hermaphrodism induction in date palm female flower

  • Cell Biology and Morphogenesis
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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.

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Abbreviations

IBA:

Indole-3-butyric acid

BAP:

6-Benzylaminopurine

2,4-D:

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

MS:

Murashige and Skoog

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology in Tunisia and the International Atomic Energy Agency, under TC Project RAF/5/049. The authors would like to thank the staff of the Regional Centre of Oasian Agriculture Research in Deguache (south of Tunisia) for their help in collecting the inflorescences. They wish also to extend their gratitude to Mr. Anouar Smaoui from the English Department at the Sfax Faculty of Science for his valuable editing and careful reviewing of the manuscript of the current study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences Sfax, Route Soukra, BP 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisia

    Faïza Masmoudi-Allouche, Walid Kriaâ & Noureddine Drira

  2. Genetic Resources Unity, Olive Tree Institute, BP 1087, 3000, Sfax, Tunisia

    Anissa Châari-Rkhis

  3. Department of Biology, Institute for Engineering studies, Route Soukra BPW, 3038, Sfax, Tunisia

    Radhia Gargouri-Bouzid

  4. Department of Applied Biology, Horticulture Section, Helsinki University, PL-27 (Latokartanonkaari5), 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Shri Mohan Jain

Authors
  1. Faïza Masmoudi-Allouche
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  2. Anissa Châari-Rkhis
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  3. Walid Kriaâ
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  4. Radhia Gargouri-Bouzid
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  5. Shri Mohan Jain
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  6. Noureddine Drira
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Correspondence to Faïza Masmoudi-Allouche.

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Communicated by K. Kamo.

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Masmoudi-Allouche, F., Châari-Rkhis, A., Kriaâ, W. et al. In vitro hermaphrodism induction in date palm female flower. Plant Cell Rep 28, 1–10 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-008-0611-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-008-0611-0

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