New allele of Ga₁ on chromosome 4.

In the course of studies on a new chlorophyll striping character, a super-allele of Ga₁ on chromosome 4 was found. This allele, Ga^s, is dominant over Ga. Small ga pollen does not function on Ga^s silk even in the absence of competition with Ga or Ga^s pollen. Out of 14 such crosses only one seed developed on one ear. The other 13 ears were completely devoid of seeds. This is interesting in view of the fact that ga pollen does function on Ga silk when there is no competition with Ga pollen. Selfing of plants heterozygous for Ga and Ga^s using sugary as a marker, Ga su/Ga^s Su, showed that Ga^s pollen functions in the production of approximately 66 per cent of the kernels when competing on Ga^s silk. This super-allele appears to be independent of the striping.

Drew Schwartz