ARS | Publication request: THE CONTROL OF SPIKELET IDENTITY BY THE BRANCHED SILKLESS1 GENE IN MAIZE

Submitted to: Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: September 8, 2002
Publication Date: November 8, 2003
Citation: CHUCK, G.S., MUSZYNSKI, M., KELLOGG, E., HAKE, S.C., SCHMIDT, R.J. THE CONTROL OF SPIKELET IDENTITY BY THE BRANCHED SILKLESS1 GENE IN MAIZE. SCIENCE. 2003. 298*5596):1238-41.

Interpretive Summary: Most of the world's food supply is derived from cereal grains that are borne in a unique structure called the spikelet, the fundamental unit of inflorescence architecture in all grasses. branched silkless1 (bd1) is a maize mutation that alters the identity of the spikelet meristem, causing indeterminate branches to form in place of spikelets. The bd1 gene is conserved in the grasses and required for normal spikelet development.

Technical Abstract: Most of the world's food supply is derived from cereal grains that are borne in a unique structure called the spikelet, the fundamental unit of inflorescence architecture in all grasses. branched silkless1 (bd1) is a maize mutation that alters the identity of the spikelet meristem, causing indeterminate branches to form in place of spikelets. We show that bd1 encodes a putative ERF transcription factor that is conserved in different grasses and is expressed in a distinct domain of the spikelet meristem. Its expression pattern suggests that signaling pathways regulate meristem identity from lateral domains of the spikelet meristem.