Correction of allelism results for am1 and am2
--William F. Sheridan and Inna N. Golubovskaya

We have been studying the genetic regulation of the initiation of meiosis and the early events of prophase I. The ameiotic1 (am1) gene appears to function at a minimum from some point during premeiotic interphase until the early zygotene phase of meiosis (I. Golubovskaya et al., Genetics 135:1151-1166). In addition to the reference mutant am1 allele (M. Rhoades MNL 30:38-42, 1956), we are studying the am1-pra1 allele isolated following N-nitroso-N-methylurea treatment of seed (I.N. Golubovskaya et al., Genetika 28(3):137-146, 1992) and also two new alleles, am1-485 and am1-489, isolated from Mutator stocks during our screen for new transposon-tagged meiotic mutations.

A new meiotic mutation termed ameiotic2 (am2) was reported (C. Curtis and G. Doyle, J. Heredity 82:158-163, 1991) and seed samples were kindly provided to us by Greg Doyle. We conducted two sets of allelism tests between am1 alleles and the am2 mutation. In both sets of tests the am2 mutation failed to complement am1 as evidenced by male sterile plants. Cytological examination of microsporocytes from these plants revealed a typical ameiotic phenotype. The am2 mutation is therefore a new allele of the am1 locus and we now refer to it by the designation am1-2. 

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