Skip Navigation


JXB Advance Access originally published online on January 22, 2007
Journal of Experimental Botany 2007 58(5):1197-1205; doi:10.1093/jxb/erl290
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary Data
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
58/5/1197    most recent
erl290v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Dolfini, S.
Right arrow Articles by Gavazzi, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Dolfini, S.
Right arrow Articles by Gavazzi, G.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Dolfini, S.
Right arrow Articles by Gavazzi, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author [2007]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

RESEARCH PAPER

A mutational approach to the study of seed development in maize

Silvana Dolfini1 *, Gabriella Consonni2 *, Corrado Viotti2, Mauro Dal Prà2, Giuliana Saltini2, Anna Giulini2, Roberto Pilu2, Antonino Malgioglio2 and Giuseppe Gavazzi2,{dagger}

1Dipartimento di Scienze Biomolecolari e Biotecnologie, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italia
2Dipartimento di Produzione Vegetale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italia

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: giuseppe.gavazzi{at}unimi.it

The maize seed comprises two major compartments, the embryo and the endosperm, both originating from the double fertilization event. The embryogenetic process allows the formation of a well-differentiated embryonic axis, surrounded by a single massive cotyledon, the scutellum. The mature endosperm constitutes the bulk of the seed and comprises specific regions containing reserve proteins, complex carbohydrates, and oils. To gain more insight into molecular events that underlie seed development, three monogenic mutants were characterized, referred to as emp (empty pericarp) on the basis of their extreme endosperm reduction, first recognizable at about 12 d after pollination. Their histological analysis reveals a partial development of the endosperm domains as well as loss of adhesion between pedicel tissues and the basal transfer layer. In the endosperm, programmed cell death (PCD) is delayed. The embryo appears retarded in its growth, but not impaired in its morphogenesis. The mutants can be rescued by culturing immature embryos, even though the seedlings appear retarded in their growth. The analysis of seeds with discordant embryo–endosperm phenotype (mutant embryo, normal endosperm and vice-versa), obtained using B–A translocations, suggests that emp expression in the embryo is necessary, but not sufficient, for proper seed development. In all three mutants the picture emerging is one of a general delay in processes related to growth, as a result of a mutation affecting endosperm development as a primary event.

Key words: Embryo, emp mutants, endosperm, maize, PCD, seed development

* These two authors contributed equally to the present work.

Received 10 May 2006; Revised 17 November 2006 Accepted 4 December 2006


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
P. A. Sabelli and B. A. Larkins
The Development of Endosperm in Grasses
Plant Physiology, January 1, 2009; 149(1): 14 - 26.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.