Sexual system

distribution of male and female function in organisms in a species.

A sexual system is how male and female roles are shared among organisms in a species.[1][2] It's sometimes called a reproductive or mating system.[3] The boundaries of the different systems are not quite clear because of changes in traits. The sexual systems have been studied for a very long period.[2]

Types of sexual systems

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Sexual systems of flowering plants may be either monomorphic or dimorphic. In monomorphic systems, one plant can have different types of flowers—some that are male, female, or both (hermaphrodite). Examples are like-monoecy, gynomonoecy, andromonoecy, and trimonoecy. In dimorphic systems, the plant forms only one flower type, male, female, or hermaphrodite. Like - dioecy, gynodioecy, androdioecy, trioecy.[4] Staminate flowers are male and consist only of stamens. They produce pollen. The female flowers are pistillate, containing only pistils. The flowers of hermaphrodite have both male and female parts: stamen and pistil.[5] In animals, similar systems exist where hermaphrodites live alongside single-sex individuals, and these are called mixed sexual systems.[6]

List of sexual systems

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Sexual system Androdioecy Dichogamy Dioicy Dioecy Gonochorism Gynodioecy Gynomonoecy Gynodioecy-Gynomonoecy Monoicy Monoecy Sequential hermaphroditism Sequential monoecy Simultaneous hermaphroditism Synoecy Trioecy Trimonoecy

References

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  1. Choe, J.C. (2019). Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior. Elsevier Science. p. 584. ISBN 978-0-12-813252-4. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Leonard, J.L. (2019). Transitions Between Sexual Systems: Understanding the Mechanisms of, and Pathways Between, Dioecy, Hermaphroditism and Other Sexual Systems. Springer International Publishing. p. 1. ISBN 978-3-319-94139-4. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  3. Cardoso, João Custódio Fernandes; Viana, Matheus Lacerda; Matias, Raphael; Furtado, Marco Túlio; Caetano, Ana Paula de Souza; Consolaro, Hélder; Brito, Vinícius Lourenço Garcia de (2018). "Towards a unified terminology for angiosperm reproductive systems". Acta Botanica Brasilica. 32 (3). FapUNIFESP (SciELO): 329–348. doi:10.1590/0102-33062018abb0124. ISSN 1677-941X.
  4. Torices, Rubén; Méndez, Marcos; Gómez, José María (10 January 2011). "Where do monomorphic sexual systems fit in the evolution of dioecy? Insights from the largest family of angiosperms". New Phytologist. 190 (1). Wiley: 234–248. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03609.x. ISSN 0028-646X. PMID 21219336.
  5. Jabbour, Florian; Espinosa, Felipe; Dejonghe, Quentin; Le Péchon, Timothée (7 January 2022). "Development and Evolution of Unisexual Flowers: A Review". Plants. 11 (2). MDPI AG: 155. doi:10.3390/plants11020155. ISSN 2223-7747.
  6. Leonard, J.; Cordoba-Aguilar, A. (2010). The Evolution of Primary Sexual Characters in Animals. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 29-30. ISBN 978-0-19-532555-3. Retrieved 4 October 2024.