HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Peters, P. J. Articles by Ejeta, G. PubMed Articles by Peters, P. J. Articles by Ejeta, G. Agricola Articles by Peters, P. J. Articles by Ejeta, G. Related Collections Sorghum Crop Genetics

CROP BREEDING & GENETICS

Mutagenesis, Selection, and Allelic Analysis of Epicuticular Wax Mutants in Sorghum

^a Dep. of Molecular Medicine, Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605
^b Dep. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907
^c Dep. of Agronomy, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907. P.J. Peters conducted this research in the Dep. of Agronomy, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907. This article is dedicated to the memory of John D. Axtell, renowned sorghum geneticist, who initiated this project and organized our collaborative efforts. Dr. Axtell was a great mentor to us and many others

^* Corresponding author (gejeta{at}purdue.edu).

Epicuticular wax forms an outer coating on the aerial surfaces of many crop plants and is implicated in tolerance to several environmental stresses including drought. Advances in knowledge of biosynthesis and secretion of these leaf surface waxes could lead to improvements in crop-stress tolerance. To study the genetics of epicuticular wax deposition, we screened for bloomless (bm) and sparse-bloom (h) mutants with reduced glaucousness of abaxial sheath surfaces within chemically mutagenized populations of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. We screened over 3974 segregating M₂ head rows with over 160,000 plants and identified 38 putative recessive epicuticular wax mutant alleles. We grouped 31 of these into allelic groups associated with one existing and 18 new epicuticular wax loci. The overall epicuticular wax mutation frequency was 0.88%. In addition, analysis of the mutant segregation frequencies within the M₂ rows allowed us to calculate the existence of five target meristem cells in a dormant (M₀) seed embryo. The high epicuticular wax mutation rate and identification of 19 epicuticular wax loci indicate the presence of a complex genetic system of epicuticular wax production in sorghum as has been shown in other species. The new bloomless and sparse-bloom mutants identified here have a wide range of phenotypes and constitute a valuable resource for studies of the genetics and biosynthesis of epicuticular waxes and their effects on tolerance to environmental stresses such as drought.

Abbreviations: bm, bloomless • DES, diethyl sulfate • EMS, ethyl methanesulfonate • h, sparse-bloom