Journal: The Plant Cell
Affiliations: 3Go to article
A key kernel about maize genetics
© Sawitree Pamee / EyeEm/Getty
The discovery of a regulatory gene that underpins cellular development, nutrient metabolism and stress responses in the starchy part of corn kernels could help plant breeders develop more agronomically favourable crops.
A team that included researchers from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences mapped the gene responsible for the small and cloudy endosperm tissue in the kernels of a mutant variety of maize. The tissue is the part of the seed that acts as a food store for the developing plant embryo, and also provides the bulk of the calories when the plant is grown for food.
This gene, dubbed opaque11, encodes a regulatory protein that controls the activity of hundreds of other genes involved in commercially relevant processes such as sugar and protein synthesis and storage. The finding could inform future maize-breeding programs for food crops, animal feed and fuel.
- The Plant Cell 30, 375–396 (2018). doi: 10.1105/tpc.17.00616
|Shanghai University (SHU), China||0.75|
|Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), CAAS, China||0.20|
|China Agricultural University (CAU), China||0.05|