Step 1

Getting there!

Our results support a model where, in an ancestor of Vitis and Muscadinia, mutations within a highly conserved region associated with flowering in angiosperms led to the emergence of dioecy in this lineage

Promoter variations in VviYABBY3 and expression profile in flowers suggest its role as a female suppressor in muscadines, similar to Vitis.

Unlike in Tetrastigma, in Muscadines flower sex is controlled by the same SDR as in Vitis with highly conserved boundaries and the same sex candidate genes

Whole genome sequencing and phasing of the SDR in Vitaceae show high gene content conservation in the family with size variations due to repetitive elements.

Conservation analysis reveals a collinear window with elevated gene conservation in the Vitis SDR across angiosperms.
pbs.twimg.com/media/GcIRnb...