Papago Flour Corn as a source of a3

Some years ago we grew some Papago Flour Corn plants from seed obtained from the Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center. Although the plants were shivering from the time they emerged, they did eventually produce some pollen which I used to make some crosses to some of my late stocks. Some years later I used some plants derived from these crosses in studies with the recessive anthocyanin factor a3. It appeared that the plants already carried a3, and, as far as I could tell, the Papago Flour Corn was the only possible source of the a3 allele. This year I grew some more Papago Flour Corn plants to

confirm their plant phenotype. The plant pigment distribution is typical of that expressed in r-r b a3 plants. I am unable to tell from the literature where the a3 factor came from that was originally described by Lindstrom (MNL 8:10, 1934), but Papago Flour Corn is certainly one possible source of the allele.

E.D. Styles

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