Molecular Analysis of the Teopod Mutations in Maize

在新梢生长过程中，所有植物都经历了形态学上的 生理上不同的青少年和成年人的发展 阶段。调节这些相位表达的机制 从一个阶段到另一个阶段的过渡很差 了解，特别是在草本植物中， 阶段往往是短暂的。玉米的Teopod（Tp）突变延长了 青少年特征的表达，从而提供了一个 有机会研究遗传基础的相变在一个 草本的种类。为了确定这些基因的功能， 是必要的，以确定他们的产品和研究他们是如何 在芽生长过程中表达。Ac诱导的Tp2突变将 并用于克隆这个基因。结构和 该基因的序列将被确定和转录区域 的基因座将被用作探针，以研究其在 包括正常和突变植物。这些实验最初将 通过北方分析和随后的原位分析进行 杂交方法为了便于克隆和基因分析， 这两个和其他Tp基因，该地区的RFLP图谱 将围绕每个基因构建。TP的功能 基因座也将通过确定它们对 基因的表达，其表达通常限于 无论是幼年期还是成年期。这些后者 研究将揭示拍摄的特征是否 由一系列顺序程序确定，或者在 通过并行开发程序组合的方式。

During shoot growth all plants progress through morphologically and physiologically distinct juvenile and adult developmental phases. The mechanism regulating the expression of these phases and the transition from one phase to another is poorly understood, particularly in herbaceous plants where the juvenile phase is often brief. The Teopod (Tp) mutations of maize prolong the expression of juvenile traits, and thereby provide an opportunity to study the genetic basis of phase change in a herbaceous species. To determine the function of these genes it is necessary to identify their products and study how they are expressed during shoot growth. Ac-induced mutations of Tp2 will be identified and used to clone this gene. The structure and the sequence of this gene will be determined and transcribed regions of the locus will be used as probes to study its expression in both normal and mutant plants. These experiments will initially be performed by Northern analysis and later by in situ hybridization. To facilitate the cloning and genetic analysis of both this and the other Tp genes, an RFLP map of the region surrounding each gene will be constructed. The function of the Tp loci will also be studied by determining their effect on the expression of genes whose expression is normally limited to either the juvenile or adult phase of shoot growth. These latter studies will reveal whether the character of the shoot is determined by a series of sequential programs, or in a combinatorial fashion by parallel developmental programs.