Discovery of the human homolog of sex-determining region (SRY) gene in dioecious plants

Mohei El-Din Solliman; Hany S Elbarbary; Mohammed Ba Abdullah; Tarek Y S Kapiel; Mourad A M Aboul-Soud; Heba Allah A Mohasseb

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.103548

Discovery of the human homolog of sex-determining region (SRY) gene in dioecious plants

Saudi J Biol Sci. 2023 Feb;30(2):103548. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.103548. Epub 2022 Dec 23.

Authors

Mohei El-Din Solliman^{1

2}, Hany S Elbarbary^{3

4}, Mohammed Ba Abdullah⁵, Tarek Y S Kapiel⁶, Mourad A M Aboul-Soud⁷, Heba Allah A Mohasseb^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Plant Biotechnology Department, College of Agricultural and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.
² Plant Biotechnology Department, National Research Centre, Dokki-Egypt, Cairo, Egypt.
³ College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Internal Medicine Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufiya University, Egypt.
⁵ Biology Dept., College of Sciences, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.
⁷ Chair of Medical and Molecular Genetics Research, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 10219, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Sex determination in the early developmental stages of dioecious crops is economically-beneficial. During this study, a human homology of SRY gene was successfully identified in dioecious crops. SRY gene sequences of date palm and jojoba were submitted to GenBank under the accession numbers KC577225 and MK991776, respectively. This is the first report regarding the novel sex-determination methodology of four dioecious plants (jojoba, date palm, papaya, and pistachios). SRY sex gene was found in all the tested dioecious plant and human samples. This novel approach is simple and of significant importance for breeders. It facilitates the unambiguous selection of jojoba and date palm female plants at an early age and reduces the plantation cost of cultivating non-productive male plants. This is a rapid sex-determination technique for dioecious plants and mammals at an early stage. This technique specifically targets the SRY sequence that has been comprehensively investigated in humans. The kit development for the SRY-based sex determination of various crops is in progress.

Keywords: Date palm; Dioecious crops; Jojoba; Molecular breeding; Pistachios; SRY gene; Sex determination.