Plant axillary meristems are composed of highly organized, self-renewing stem cells that produce indeterminate branches or terminate in differentiated structures, such as the flowers. These opposite fates, dictated by both genetic and environmental factors, determine interspecific differences in the architecture of plants. The Cys(2)-His(2) zinc-finger transcription factor RAMOSA1 (RA1) regulat...

Here, multiple functions of jasmonic acid (JA) in maize (Zea mays) are revealed by comprehensive analyses of JA-deficient mutants of the two oxo-phytodienoate reductase genes, OPR7 and OPR8. Single mutants produce wild-type levels of JA in most tissues, but the double mutant opr7 opr8 has dramatically reduced JA in all organs tested. opr7 opr8 displayed strong developmental defects, including f...

Changes in quantity and quality of corn crop stover can have a large impact on soil conservation and soil carbon (C) sequestration over large areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in production, concentration and amount of C and nitrogen (N) in corn stover fractions due to cultivar development. Two field experiments were conducted in the city of Rolândia (Paraná State, Brazil) us...

Monocot stems lack the vascular cambium and instead have characteristic structures in which intercalary meristems generate internodes and veins remain separate and scattered. However, developmental processes of these unique structures have been poorly described. BELL1-like homeobox (BLH) transcription factors (TFs) are known to heterodimerize with KNOTTED1-like homeobox TFs to play crucial role...

The biotrophic smut fungus Ustilago maydis infects all aerial organs of maize (Zea mays) and induces tumors in the plant tissues. U. maydis deploys many effector proteins to manipulate its host. Previously, deletion analysis demonstrated that several effectors have important functions in inducing tumor expansion specifically in maize leaves. Here, we present the functional characterization of t...

Recent advances in genotyping-by-sequencing have enabled genome-wide association studies in nonmodel species including those in aquaculture programs. As with other aquaculture species, rainbow trout and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are susceptible to disease and outbreaks can lead to significant losses. Fish culturists have therefore been pursuing strategies to prevent losses to common patho...

The maize p1 gene encodes an R2R3-MYB transcription factor that controls the biosynthesis of red flavonoid pigments in floral tissues of the maize plant. Genetic and quantitative trait locus analyses have also associated the p1 gene with the synthesis of maysin, a flavone glycoside from maize silks that confers natural resistance to corn earworm. Here, we show directly that the p1 gene induces ...

GATA transcription factors are evolutionarily conserved transcriptional regulators that recognize promoter elements with a G-A-T-A core sequence. In comparison to animal genomes, the GATA transcription factor family in plants is comparatively large with approximately 30 members. Here, we review the current knowledge on B-GATAs, one of four GATA factor subfamilies from Arabidopsis thaliana. We s...

Maize is unique among cereal grasses because of its monoecious flowering habit. Male flowers are normally restricted to the tassel that terminates the primary shoot, whereas female flowers occur as ears at the terminal nodes of lateral branches. We observed Ki14, a tropical maize inbred that produces an ear tipped by a staminate (male) spike under certain environmental conditions, such as long ...

Plants lack a germ line; consequently, during reproduction adult somatic cells within flowers must switch from mitotic proliferation to meiosis. In maize (Zea mays L.) anthers, hypoxic conditions in the developing tassel trigger pre-meiotic competence in the column of pluripotent progenitor cells in the center of anther lobes, and within 24 hr these newly specified germinal cells have patterned...