The sh-bz-x1 mutation may include the C locus

Ears of plants heterozygous for + +/sh-bz-x1 were crossed by c sh Bz tester. The resulting kernels segregated about half colored non-shrunken and half colorless shrunken, while self-pollinations on other ears of the same plants gave only colored non-shrunken and crosses by C sh bz tester gave half non-shrunken purple and half shrunken bronze. The mutant, as characterized by J. P. Mottinger (Genetics 64:259, 1970), is transmitted infrequently through the male parent and affects pollen size; it also results in reduced seed size when heterozygous. The above results identify that the sh-bz-x1 chromosome is also c. No recombinants (c Sh or C sh) were observed in a few small tests. Since the original irradiated pollen parent from which sh-bz-x1 arose was a colored-seeded standard (i.e., C Sh Bz), it appears that the C locus was deleted at the same time as Sh and Bz, and that the deletion extends through all three loci. Tests show that Yg2 is not included in the deletion.

E. H. Coe


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