27th Annual Student Research Conference
Characterization of the raggedseedling-378 Mutant in Zea mays
Benjamin T. Julius* and Kevin A. Bodker
Dr. Diane Janick-Buckner and Dr. Brent Buckner, Faculty Mentors
The trans-acting small interfering RNA (ta-siRNA) pathway is involved in the establishment of polarity in plant leaves. Mutations that disrupt this pathway lead to dramatic alterations in leaf shape. rgd-378 is a newly identified maize mutant with small, fragile, spindle-like leaves that share similarity to previously characterized ta-siRNA pathway mutants. Histological analysis of wild-type and mutant leaves revealed a decreased density of vascular bundles in rgd-378 leaves, as well as an increase in size of cells between vascular bundles. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to compare expression of genes in the ta-siRNA pathway using cDNA prepared from rgd-378 and wild-type leaf primordia. Some of these genes displayed differential expression demonstrating that the ta-siRNA pathway is altered in rgd-378 plants. A large interval on chromosome 3 was identified by bulked segregant analysis to be the likely location of the rgd-378 mutation. We are examining candidate genes in this region.
Keywords: Maize, ta-siRNA, rgd-378
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 4-16
Location: GEO - SUB
Time: 3:30