26th Annual Student Research Conference
Histological and Molecular Characterization of Maize Mutant rgd-766
Kevin A. Bodker*, Kevin A. Kaifer, and Beth A. Osia
Dr. Diane Janick-Buckner, Faculty Mentor
The trans-acting small interfering RNA (ta-siRNA) pathway is involved in the establishment of dorsiventral polarity and mediolateral expansion in plant leaves. Mutations that disrupt this pathway, as observed in raggedseedling2 (rgd2) and leafbladeless1 (lbl1) mutants, lead to dramatic alterations in leaf morphology. A novel developmental maize mutant, rgd-766, with phenotypic abnormalities similar to rgd2 and lbl1 has been identified. Histological analyses of rgd-766 leaves show several defects in epidermal cell patterning. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to compare expression of genes in the ta-siRNA pathway; no differences in expression were detected. An interval on chromosome 10 was identified as the probable location of the gene responsible for the rgd-766 phenotype. The maize Dicer-Like4 (DCL4) gene, which falls in this region, was found to have a base-pair change in rgd-766 plants that could account for this mutants phenotype.
Keywords: Maize, ta-siRNA, rgd-766, DCL4
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 2-7
Location: GEO
Time: 3:30