Increased
transmission of full vegetative multiranking through pollen from the central
spike of the tassel in comparison with pollen from the lateral branches
--Walton C. Galinat
Pollen from different parts of the same
tassel was used to self-pollinate different ears on the same plant with
full expression of vegetative multiranking (full mrv). Of 144 plants
derived from pollination by the central spike with floral multiranking,
4.4% had full expression of vegetative multiranking. Of 126 plants derived
from pollination by the lateral, two-ranked branches from the same tassel
onto the other ear borne on the same plant, only 1.8% showed full expression
of vegetative multiranking. The difference in transmission rate is attributed
to an epigenic difference in ranking between the central spike of the tassel
and its lateral branches. In the presence of the mrv gene, this
difference in ranking tends to be carried over into the next generation
as if pollen from the central spike was not fully set back to two-ranking
for the next cycle. In teosinte there is no need for a reversion system
for phyllotaxy because both the floral and vegetative phases are two-ranked.
The ub (unbranched tassel) gene is being transferred to the mrv
stocks in an attempt to stabilize the mrv expression in the vegetative
phase.
Please Note: Notes submitted to the Maize Genetics Cooperation
Newsletter may be cited only with consent of the authors
Return to the MNL 64 On-Line Index
Return to the Maize Newsletter Index
Return to the MaizeGDB Homepage