Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42008603›Full record

ArticlePLoS genetics2026

Whole-genome sequencing reveals a possible molecular basis of sex determination in the dioecious wild yam Dioscorea tokoro.

Aoi Kudoh, Satoshi Natsume, Yu Sugihara, Hiroaki Kato, Akira Abe, Kaori Oikawa, Motoki Shimizu, Kazue Itoh, Mai Tsujimura, Yoshitaka Takano and 8 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS genetics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Aoi KudohLaboratory of Crop Evolution, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2271-9193
Satoshi NatsumeIwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan.
Yu SugiharaThe Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6042-1091
Hiroaki KatoLaboratory of Crop Evolution, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9914-903X
Akira AbeIwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0344-2643
Kaori OikawaIwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan.
Motoki ShimizuIwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5622-5554
Kazue ItohIwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan.
Mai TsujimuraDepartment of Plant Life Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ryukoku University, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
Yoshitaka TakanoLaboratory of Plant Pathology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1427-1322
Toshiyuki SakaiLaboratory of Crop Evolution, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2737-3299
Hiroaki AdachiLaboratory of Crop Evolution, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7184-744X
Atsushi OhtaLaboratory of Crop Evolution, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Mina OhtsuLaboratory of Plant Immunity, Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7479-8455
Takuma IshizakiJapan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7230-3332
Toru TerachiLaboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto, Japan.
Hideki InnanThe Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, SOKENDAI, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6375-9231
Ryohei TerauchiLaboratory of Crop Evolution, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0095-4651

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dioecious plants, which have distinct male and female individuals, constitute ~5% of angiosperm species and have emerged frequently and independently from hermaphroditic ancestors. Although recent molecular studies of sex determination have started to reveal the diversity of the genetic systems underlying dioecy, research on the evolution of dioecy is limited, especially in monocots. Here, we explore the molecular basis of sex determination in the monocot Dioscorea tokoro, a dioecious wild yam endemic to East Asia. Chromosome-scale and haplotype-resolved genome assemblies and linkage analysis suggested that this plant has a male heterogametic sex-determination (XY) system, with sex-determination regions located on chromosome 3. Sequence comparison between the X- and Y-chromosomes and read coverage analysis revealed X- and Y-specific regions in putative pericentromeric chromosome regions. Within the Y-specific region, we propose two candidate genes that are likely involved in sex determination: BLH9, encoding a homeobox protein, and HSP90, encoding a molecular chaperone. BLH9 functions in a similar way as AtBLH9 in Arabidopsis thaliana. BLH9 could be involved in suppression of female organ development, whereas HSP90 might be required for pollen development. These results shed light on the complex evolution of dioecy in plants.

Indexed as

DioscoreaSex Determination ProcessesChromosome MappingChromosomes, PlantEvolution, MolecularGenome, PlantHaplotypesPlant ProteinsWhole Genome SequencingPlant Proteins

Identifiers

PMID42008603
PMCPMC13128126

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.