Figure 6.

Model for the evolution of dioecy in spinach. In the ancestral hermaphroditic species, upstream elements, including but not limited to GA and LFY, activate both B (PI and AP3) and C (AG) class genes. Both classes of genes retain organ identity functions as described in the ABC model. Mutations in the B class genes, notated by *, result in premature termination of the flower in the third whorl, and thus the loss of the carpel. The resultant flower is male. Inactivation or suppression of expression of the B class genes, modulated by the GA response pathway, results in the expression of AG only. The absence of B class gene products causes a reduction in the number of organs in the first whorl and the formation of a single, terminal carpel. The resultant flower is female.