Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Plant Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #58108
Title: A TALE OF TWO MIMICS; TRANSPOSON TAGGING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF TWO DISEASE LESION MIMIC MUTATIONS OF MAIZE

Author
item JOHAL, G - UNIV OF MO
item LEE, E - UNIV OF MO
item CLOSE, P - UNIV OF MO
item Coe Jr, Edward
item NEUFFER, M - UNIV OF MO
item BRIGGS, S - PIONEER HI-BRED INTL

Submitted to: Maydica
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/9/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Disease infections in corn and other cereal crops often lead to the formation of characteristic necrotic spots (lesions) on the leaves, which are part of the typical defense or breakdown responses. For a number of diseases, genes controlling differences in these responses, including resistance to the disease by containment in dying tissue, are known and are incorporated as host-plant resistance into hybrids, to aid in control of the diseases. A number of genes also are known for which mutants show lesion responses, indistinguishable from lesions on disease infected plants and occurring in the absence of any invading disease organism. Unknown processes are involved, and obviously need to be understood. Isolation of genes with these lesion-generating properties is the goal of the present study. The first step, molecular "tagging" of genes causing the lesion expression, is reported in this paper.

Technical Abstract: Two genes, lls1 (lethal leaf spot), a recessive, and Les*-2552, a dominant, for which mutants have disease-lesion mimic phenotypes, have been tagged by insertion mutation with Mutator. Multiple occurrences of each are reported and characterized. Some of the mutants are mutable, and revertant sectors show loss of Mutator-probed bands upon reversion, strongly supporting that true insertion mutants have been derived. Work with these mutants can be expected to lead to cloning of one or both of the genes, toward learning the basis of their function.