The new anthocyanin factor(s) reported by Coe and Neuffer in MNL 60:54 on 5S resolve to a single group of allelic mutants. Six occurrences have been identified in progenies from EMS treatments. Allelism tests with a2 are negative, as are tests with ps and vp2. All are homozygous inviable and fail to germinate, though the embryo appears normal and in rare instances poor seedlings arise but die. Small kernels are typical of four of the occurrences more or less regularly; there is sufficient variation in this to indicate that it is an expression subject to modifiers. Low ratios are also common, but not constant; tests for involvement of the gametophyte factors on chromosome 5 have not been conducted. Two of the occurrences have a pale-aleurone expression rather than colorless; one of the two expresses the color in irregular spots, while the other is uniformly pale. The individual occurrences have characteristics as follows:
 

Among progeny from crosses with markers on chromosome 5, two of the colorless types have become pale in expression; modifiers may influence the color development, or may confer the missing function with low activity.

Linkage analysis places anl1 distal to a2. Specifically, colored nonbrittle kernels from testcrosses of + a2 bm bt pr/anl1 + + + + x a2 bm bt pr were selfed and classified. Of 28 kernels, 3 carried a recombinant + + + + + strand and the remaining 25 carried anl1 + + + +, demonstrating that anl1 is distal to a2 and roughly 10 units away. F2 data are also consistent with the position and the distance.

Ed Coe
 
 

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