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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 18, 2025

Author Spotlight: Improved Methods for Preparing Transverse Sections and Unrolled Whole Mounts of Maize Leaf Primordia for Fluorescence and Confocal Imaging

Author Spotlight: Improved Methods for Preparing Transverse Sections and Unrolled Whole Mounts of Maize Leaf Primordia for Fluorescence and Confocal Imaging

Published on: September 22, 2023

Terminal ear 1 and phytochromes B1/B2 regulate maize leaf initiation independently.

Michael Busche¹, Sarah Hake^2,3, Jacob O Brunkard¹

¹Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715, USA.

|December 10, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Two maize mutants, te1 and phyB1;phyB2, influence leaf initiation rates. Their combined effects suggest distinct genetic pathways control plant leaf development, rather than overlapping ones.

Keywords:

PhyB TERMINAL EAR 1 leaf initiation maize phytochrome plant development plant genetics and genomics plastochron shoot architecture

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Kinematic Analysis of Cell Division and Expansion: Quantifying the Cellular Basis of Growth and Sampling Developmental Zones in Zea mays Leaves

Kinematic Analysis of Cell Division and Expansion: Quantifying the Cellular Basis of Growth and Sampling Developmental Zones in Zea mays Leaves

Published on: December 2, 2016

Area of Science:

Plant biology
Genetics
Developmental biology

Background:

Higher plants continuously produce new leaves from shoot meristems.
Leaf initiation rate is regulated by physiological cues, but genetic pathways remain largely unknown.
Maize mutants te1 and phyB1;phyB2 exhibit opposing effects on leaf initiation and total leaf number.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether Phytochrome B1 (PhyB1), Phytochrome B2 (PhyB2), and terminal ear1 (te1) function in overlapping or distinct genetic pathways controlling leaf initiation in maize.
To analyze the genetic interactions between te1 and phyB1;phyB2 mutations.

Main Methods:

Maize mutants te1 and phyB1;phyB2 were crossed to generate an F2 population segregating for these mutations.
Phenotypic analysis of the F2 population included quantifying leaf number, leaf initiation rate, plant height, leaf dimensions, juvenile leaf number, stalk diameter, and dry shoot biomass.

Main Results:

Leaf number and initiation rate in the triple mutant (phyB1;phyB2;te1) were intermediate between the two single mutant parents.
These results indicate an additive genetic interaction between te1 and phyB1;phyB2 mutations.
No epistatic interaction was observed between the mutations.

Conclusions:

PhyB1, PhyB2, and TE1 likely regulate leaf initiation through separate and distinct signaling pathways.
This study elucidates the genetic control of leaf initiation rate in maize, highlighting the roles of specific genes in developmental processes.