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, Gas, is dominant over Ga. Small ga pollen does not function on Gas silk even in the absence of competition with Ga or Gas 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 Gas using sugary as a marker, Ga su/Gas Su, showed that Gas pollen functions in the production of approximately 66 per cent of the kernels when competing on Gas silk. This super-allele appears to be independent of the striping.