Annotation:
In contrast to animals with mostly separated two sexes, a number of reproductive strategies coexist in higher
plants. Surprisingly, the presence of well-established sex chromosomes in dioecious plants is rare. We intend
to investigate structure and evolution of sex chromosomes in dioecious plant Silene latifolia. Since only
limited sequence information on sex chromosomes is available in this species we focus on characterization
of X chromosome as the fundamental step towards understanding the evolution of sex chromosomes. Our
first goal is to construct X chromosome-specific BAC library using flow sorting approach. Subsequently, X
chromosome specic physical map will be assembled and individual BACs will be sequenced. In parallel,
massive sequencing using sorted X and Y chromosomes and sex chromosome-corresponding BAC clones in
gynodioecious S. vulgaris will be carried out. Expression data for individual tissues, sexes and species will
be generated based on RNA-seq approach. Comparative analyses of the data obtained will improve our
understanding of processes forming sex chromosomes.
