Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2025
14:43
Lignin Down-regulation of Zea mays via dsRNAi and Klason Lignin Analysis
Published on: July 23, 2014
13.5K
A Heterochromatic Knob Reducing the Flowering Time in Maize
Renata Flávia Carvalho1, Margarida Lopes Rodrigues Aguiar-Perecin1, Wellington Ronildo Clarindo2
1"Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture, ESALQ, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil.
Frontiers in Genetics
|March 14, 2022
Summary
Maize flowering time is influenced by specific genetic factors, not overall genome size or knob composition. A key knob marker on chromosome 9 was identified as affecting flowering time.
Area of Science:
- Plant genetics
- Agronomy
- Genomics
Background:
- Maize flowering time is a critical agronomic trait.
- Previous research linked flowering time to genome size and heterochromatic knobs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between heterochromatic knob composition, genome size, and maize flowering time.
- To identify specific genetic loci influencing flowering time.
Main Methods:
- Selected maize inbred lines with varying knob compositions.
- Produced homozygous and heterozygous hybrids.
- Measured genome size and flowering time.
- Conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS).
Main Results:
- Knob composition and genome size did not significantly affect flowering time.
- A specific knob marker on chromosome 9 showed the strongest association with flowering time.
- Allele substitution and dominance modeling identified a single heterochromatic knob locus influencing earlier flowering.
Conclusions:
- Flowering time in maize is primarily influenced by specific genetic loci, not broad variations in knob content or genome size.
- A chromosome 9 knob marker is a significant predictor of earlier flowering time.
- Understanding these loci can aid in breeding for desired flowering times.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:32Position-effect Variegation
6.6K
In 1928, a German botanist Emil Heitz observed the moss nuclei with a DNA binding dye. He observed that while some chromatin regions decondense and spread out in the interphase nucleus, others do not. He termed them euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. He proposed that the heterochromatin regions reflect a functionally inactive state of the genome. It was later confirmed that heterochromatin is transcriptionally repressed, and euchromatin is transcriptionally active chromatin.
6.6K
02:45Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses
39.5K
The circadian—or biological—clock is an intrinsic, timekeeping, molecular mechanism that allows plants to coordinate physiological activities over 24-hour cycles called circadian rhythms. Photoperiodism is a collective term for the biological responses of plants to variations in the relative lengths of dark and light periods. The period of light-exposure is called the photoperiod.
39.5K
01:25Cell Signaling in Plants
5.8K
Plant cells communicate to coordinate their cycle of growth, flowering and fruiting, and activities in roots, shoots, and leaves in response to the changing environmental conditions. Plant signaling is distinct from animal signaling. Plants primarily utilize enzyme-linked receptors, whereas the largest class of cell-surface receptors in animals are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Unlike animals, receptor tyrosine kinases are rare in plants. Instead, plants have a diverse class of...
5.8K
01:20Monohybrid Crosses
232.0K
Overview
232.0K
02:38Heterochromatin
14.8K
The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions that take up more dye are called heterochromatin. Heterochromatin is further classified into two forms – constitutive heterochromatin and facultative heterochromatin.
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at...
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at...
14.8K
01:17Gene Regulation During Sporulation
126
Sporulation is a complex developmental process that allows certain Gram-positive bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis and Clostridium species, to survive extreme environmental conditions. This process is tightly regulated by a series of signaling cascades and transcriptional controls, ensuring the formation of a highly resistant endospore.Sporulation is triggered by unfavorable conditions, such as nutrient depletion, and is governed by a phosphorelay system. One of the sensor kinases, such as...
126