page_title: Sex determination in Silene
section_title: Importance of Y-chromosome
hierarchical_section_title: Sex determination in Silene / Genetics / Importance of Y-chromosome
caption_attribution_description: English: This diagram illustrates the distinct genetic combinations that can occur on the Y chromosome of Silene latifolia and the reproductive systems that each causes.
context_page_description: Silene are a flowering plant that evolved a dioecious reproductive system. This is made possible through heteromorphic sex chromosomes expressed as XY. Silene recently evolved sex chromosomes 5-10 million years ago and are widely used by geneticists and biologists to study the mechanisms of sex determination since they are one of only 39 species across 14 families of angiosperm that possess sex-determining genes. Silene are studied because of their ability to produce offspring with a plethora of reproductive systems. The common inference drawn from such studies is that the sex of the offspring is determined by the Y chromosome.
context_section_description: Several studies concentrated on Silene latifolia have shown a correlation between loci on the Y chromosome and the sex that is expressed phenotypically in the flower. Two of these sex-linked genes “promote maleness” (male fertility and male promotion) and one of them codes for female suppression. Therefore, the Y chromosome carries three dominant genes that determine the sexual expression in a Silene offspring. If there are deletions and mutations in the Y chromosome during reproduction, then different sex-linked genes are lost. The different combinations of possible sex-related genes that an individual Silene can have in one Y chromosome are what creates the rich variation of sexual phenotypes throughout this genus.
caption: This diagram illustrates the different gene combinations that can appear on the Y chromosome of Silene latifolia. Each combination of genes leads to a distinct sexual expression. Adapted from  "Silene latifolia : The Classical Model to Study Heteromorphic Sex Chromosomes" by E. Kejnovsky and B. Vyskot.[6]
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