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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Crop Protection and Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #119671
Title: QUANTITATIVE EFFECTS OF LOCI P1 AND A1 ON THE CONCENTRATIONS OF MAYSIN, APIMAYSIN, METHOXYMAYSIN, AND CHLOROGENIC ACID IN MAIZE SILK TISSUE.

Author
item Guo, Baozhu
item ZHANG, Z - UGA, ENTOMOLOGY
item BUTRON, ANNA - SPANISH MINISTRY OF ED.
item Widstrom, Neil
item SNOOK, M - UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
item Lynch, Robert
item PLAISTED, D - NOVARTIS SEEDS, INC.

Submitted to: Maize Genetics Cooperation Newsletter
Publication Type: Research Notes
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2001
Publication Date: 12/31/2001
Citation: Guo, B., Zhang, Z.J., Butron, A.M., Widstrom, N.W., Snook, M.E., Lynch, R.E., Plaisted, D. 2001. Quantitative effects of Loci P1 and A1 on the concentrations of maysin, apimaysin, methoxymasin, and chlorogenic acid in maize silk tissue. Maize Genetics Newsletter. 75:64-66.

Interpretive Summary: Sweet corn is very susceptible to damage to ear-feeding insects such as the corn earworm. Thus, to prevent damage, an estimated 25-40 applications of pesticide are used to control insects which damage the ear. Resistance to the corn earworm has been identified in field corn and is being transferred to sweet corn to reduce the number of applications of pesticide currently used to eliminate insect damage to the ear. This resistance is due to the presence of naturally occurring chemicals (maysin, apimaysin, methoxymaysin, and chlorogenic acid) which occur in the corn silks. This research was conducted to study the genes that control the production of these chemicals in silks. Once identified, markers can be developed to aid in breeding improved sweet corn with resistance to insects so that less insecticides will be needed to control insects that damage the ear.

Technical Abstract: Among the natural products synthesized through the phenylpropanoid/ flavonoid pathway in maize silk are C-glycosyl flavones including maysin, apimaysin and methoxymaysin, and the phenylpropanoid chlorogenic acid which are antibiotic to corn earworm. Sweet corn (Zea mays L.) is a vulnerable crop to ear-feeding insects and depends on pesticide application to prevent tear damage made by insects. This study was to identify maize chromosome regions (quantitative trait loci, QTL) associated with biosyntheses of maysin, apimaysin and methoxymaysin, and chlorogenic acid in silks and eventually to develop sweet corn lines with resistance to ear-feeding insects. Using an F2 population derived from GE37 (high maysin dent corn inbred) and B31857 (low maysin sh2 sweet corn inbred), we report further details about the quantitatively genetic control over maysin, apimaysin and methoxymaysin, and chlorogenic acid. Our data support that p1 regulates the gene(s) required for the synthesis of chlorogenic acid. Our data support that p1 regulates the gene(s) required for the synthesis of chlorogenic acid. We also present information of the epistasis effect of p1 and a1 on apimaysin and methoxymaysin, which were similar or identical to those on maysin. Two chromosome regions were detected (RFLP makers npi409 on short arm of chromosome 5 and umc132a on long arm of chromosome 6) that showed contrasting association with maysin or apimaysin and methoxymaysin, indicating that the syntheses of these flavonoids occur independently. Consequently, marker-assisted selection based on results from QTL studies seems to be a suitable breeding strategy for improving resistance of sweet corn to corn earworm damage and reducing pesticide application.