The lutescent mutant in maize: I. Inheritance patterns and environmental effects.

EVERAL chlorophyll-deficient mutants in maize display traits which resemble mineral-deficiency symptoms in genetically normal plants (BELL 1963). The present investigation involves a recently discovered trait in maize which resembles those symptoms resulting from nitrogen deficiency. The mutant, called lutes scent^' (BELL 1964) because of its resemblance to the lutescent tomato mutant (RICK and BUTLER 1956), was found by DR. ROY G. CREECH, The Pennsylvania State University, in a field planting of the U.S.D.A. plant introduction #262480. The phenotype of the mutant is characterized by pale yellow-green leaves which persist throughout the life of the plant (Figure 1A). As the leaves age, the yellowing becomes more intense, but the condition is not lethal under any known conditions. Mutant plants show a fair amount of vigor, and seed set has been reasonably good. A preliminary report on the nitrogen metabolism of the lutescent mutant has appeared (SHORTESS and BELL 1965), and more detailed aspects of this work will be discussed in a subsequent paper ( SHORTESS, BELL and WRIGHT 1968). In the present paper patterns of inheritance and their interaction with environmental factors are reported.