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Related Experiment Videos

The heritable activation of cryptic Suppressor-mutator elements by an active element.

N Fedoroff1

  • 1Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Baltimore, Maryland 21210.

Genetics
|March 1, 1989
PubMed
Summary

A maize Suppressor-mutator (Spm-omega) element can activate silent Spm elements. This activation is heritable and can be efficiently selected for in kernels, with sustained activity influenced by the presence of Spm-omega.

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Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology
  • Plant Science

Background:

  • The maize Suppressor-mutator (Spm) element is a transposable element involved in gene regulation.
  • Cryptic Spm elements are typically inactive but can be reactivated under certain conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the ability of a weakly active Spm-omega element to activate cryptic Spm elements in maize.
  • To characterize the frequency, heritability, and stability of Spm element reactivation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing a maize genetic background with cryptic Spm elements.
  • Introducing a weakly active Spm-omega element to observe its effect on cryptic element activity.
  • Phenotypic analysis of kernel sectors to detect somatic reactivation.
  • Monitoring element activity across generations to assess heritability and stability.

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Main Results:

  • Spm-omega significantly increases the spontaneous activation frequency of cryptic Spm elements by approximately 100-fold.
  • Reactivation is heritable, with elevated activity persisting a generation after Spm-omega removal.
  • Somatic reactivation is detectable phenotypically in maize kernels, enabling efficient selection.
  • The reactivation process is gradual, involving metastable intermediates, and newly activated elements tend to revert to inactivity.

Conclusions:

  • Spm-omega is an effective activator of cryptic Spm elements in maize.
  • Heritable activation and subsequent stability are influenced by the duration of Spm-omega presence.
  • Phenotypic selection in kernels provides an efficient strategy for identifying plants with reactivated Spm elements.