Mutations in the maize zeta-carotene desaturase gene lead to viviparous kernel

by Yan Chen, Jiankun Li, Kaijian Fan, Yicong Du, Zhenjing Ren, Jing Xu, Jun Zheng, Yunjun Liu, Junjie Fu, Dongtao Ren, Guoying Wang

Preharvest sprouting reduces the maize quality and causes a significant yield loss in maize production. vp-wl2 is a Mutator (Mu)-induced viviparous mutant in maize, causing white or pale yellow kernels, dramatically reduced carotenoid and ABA content, and a high level of zeta-carotene accumulation. Here, we reported the cloning of the vp-wl2 gene using a modified digestion-ligation-amplification method (DLA). The results showed that an insertion of Mu9 in the first intron of the zeta-carotene desaturase (ZDS) gene results in the vp-wl2 mutation. Previous studies have suggested that ZDS is likely the structural gene of the viviparous9 (vp9) locus. Therefore, we performed an allelic test using vp-wl2 and three vp9 mutants. The results showed that vp-wl2 is a novel allele of the vp9 locus. In addition, the sequences of ZDS gene were identified in these three vp9 alleles. The vp-wl2 mutant gene was subsequently introgressed into four maize inbred lines, and a viviparous phenotype was observed with yield losses from 7.69% to 13.33%.

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2nfj1Qc
via IFTTT