|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| Home Help Feedback Subscriptions Archive Search Table of Contents | ||||
Plant Gene Expression Center, USDA-ARS and University of California, Berkeley, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA
*Author for correspondence (e-mail: maizesh{at}nature.berkeley.edu)
Accepted 11 March 2002
Meristems may be determinate or indeterminate. In maize, the indeterminate inflorescence meristem produces three types of determinate meristems: spikelet pair, spikelet and floral meristems. These meristems are defined by their position and their products. We have discovered a gene in maize, indeterminate floral apex1 (ifa1) that regulates meristem determinacy. The defect found in ifa1 mutants is specific to meristems and does not affect lateral organs. In ifa1 mutants, the determinate meristems become less determinate. The spikelet pair meristem initiates more than a pair of spikelets and the spikelet meristem initiates more than the normal two flowers. The floral meristem initiates all organs correctly, but the ovule primordium, the terminal product of the floral meristem, enlarges and proliferates, expressing both meristem and ovule marker genes. A role for ifa1 in meristem identity in addition to meristem determinacy was revealed by double mutant analysis. In zea agamous1 (zag1) ifa1 double mutants, the female floral meristem converts to a branch meristem whereas the male floral meristem converts to a spikelet meristem. In indeterminate spikelet1 (ids1) ifa1 double mutants, female spikelet meristems convert to branch meristems and male spikelet meristems convert to spikelet pair meristems. The double mutant phenotypes suggest that the specification of meristems in the maize inflorescence involves distinct steps in an integrated process.
Key words: Determinacy, Meristem, Maize, Ovule, Floral reversion, Spikelet
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  R. M. BATEMAN and P. J. RUDALL Evolutionary and Morphometric Implications of Morphological Variation Among Flowers Within an Inflorescence: A Case-Study Using European Orchids Ann. Bot., November 1, 2006; 98(5): 975 - 993. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 F. Tooke, M. Ordidge, T. Chiurugwi, and N. Battey Mechanisms and function of flower and inflorescence reversion J. Exp. Bot., October 1, 2005; 56(420): 2587 - 2599. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Bommert, N. Satoh-Nagasawa, D. Jackson, and H.-Y. Hirano Genetics and Evolution of Inflorescence and Flower Development in Grasses Plant Cell Physiol., January 15, 2005; 46(1): 69 - 78. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. T. Malcomber and E. A. Kellogg Heterogeneous Expression Patterns and Separate Roles of the SEPALLATA Gene LEAFY HULL STERILE1 in Grasses PLANT CELL, July 1, 2004; 16(7): 1692 - 1706. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. Yamaguchi, N. Nagasawa, S. Kawasaki, M. Matsuoka, Y. Nagato, and H.-Y. Hirano The YABBY Gene DROOPING LEAF Regulates Carpel Specification and Midrib Development in Oryza sativa PLANT CELL, February 1, 2004; 16(2): 500 - 509. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N. J. Kaplinsky and M. Freeling Combinatorial control of meristem identity in maize inflorescences Development, March 15, 2003; 130(6): 1149 - 1158. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Chuck, M. Muszynski, E. Kellogg, S. Hake, and R. J. Schmidt The Control of Spikelet Meristem Identity by the branched silkless1 Gene in Maize Science, November 8, 2002; 298(5596): 1238 - 1241. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
