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Related Experiment Videos

The early phase change gene in maize.

Shifra H Vega1, Matt Sauer, Joseph A J Orkwiszewski

  • 1Biology Department, Plant Science Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6018, USA.

The Plant Cell
|February 5, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Recessive mutations in maize's early phase change (epc) gene accelerate flowering by shortening the juvenile phase. The epc gene is crucial for maintaining plant development, including shoot and root initiation.

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Identification of the Teopod1, Teopod2, and Early Phase Change genes in maize.

G3 (Bethesda, Md.)·2023

Area of Science:

  • Plant Biology
  • Developmental Genetics
  • Molecular Botany

Background:

  • Plant development involves distinct phases, including juvenile and adult vegetative stages, which transition to reproductive growth.
  • Vegetative phase change in plants is a critical developmental process influencing morphology and flowering time.
  • The early phase change (epc) gene in maize has been identified as a key regulator of this transition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the early phase change (epc) gene in regulating vegetative phase change and flowering time in maize.
  • To elucidate the function of epc in promoting juvenile traits and suppressing adult traits during plant development.
  • To explore the genetic interactions of epc with other developmental mutations in maize.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of maize mutants with recessive epc mutations.
  • Phenotypic characterization of vegetative and reproductive development in epc mutants.
  • Genetic analysis, including epistasis tests and interaction studies with other maize mutations (e.g., dwarf1, Teopod mutations).

Main Results:

  • Recessive epc mutations shorten the juvenile vegetative phase, leading to early flowering in maize.
  • epc mutations do not significantly affect the total number of adult leaves or the rate of leaf initiation, except transiently during germination.
  • epc mutations block the rejuvenation of leaf primordia and are epistatic to the dwarf1 mutation, interacting additively with Teopod mutations.
  • Enhanced mutant phenotypes reveal epc's role in shoot apical meristem maintenance, leaf, and root initiation.

Conclusions:

  • The epc gene is essential for promoting the juvenile phase and suppressing the adult phase of shoot development in maize.
  • Floral induction is initiated by the transition from the juvenile to the adult phase.
  • epc plays a broader role in plant development, including meristem maintenance and organ initiation, beyond its function in phase change.