Journal of Heredity Advance Access originally published online on October 30, 2008
Journal of Heredity 2009 100(2):217-228; doi:10.1093/jhered/esn091
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Published by Oxford University Press 2008.
The Maize enr System of r1 Haplotype–Specific Aleurone Color Enhancement Factors
From the United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Soybean/Maize Germplasm, Pathology and Genetics Research Unit, Urbana, IL (Stinard and Sachs); Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (Kermicle); and Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL (Sachs)
Address correspondence to Martin M. Sachs, Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center, S-123 Turner Hall, 1102 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, or e-mail: msachs{at}uiuc.edu.
We describe a family of 3 dominant r1 haplotype–specific enhancers of aleurone color in Zea mays. Stable alleles of the 3 enhancement of r1 loci (enr1, enr2, and enr3) intensify aleurone color conferred by certain pale and near-colorless r1 haplotypes. In addition, unstable alleles of enr1 act on the same set of r1 haplotypes, producing spotted kernels. Components of this instability cross react with the Fcu system of instability. Two of the enr loci are linked with one another but none of the 3 are linked with r1. The r1 haplotypes affected by enr alleles overlap those affected by the inr family of r1 haplotype–specific inhibitors of aleurone color, suggesting a possible interaction.
Key Words: dominant color enhancer epistatic interactions Fcu r1 locus transposable elements zea mays
Corresponding Editor: Susan Gabay-Laughnan
Received June 9, 2008
Revised September 5, 2008
Accepted September 22, 2008