title: Insertion mutations at the maize Opaque2 locus induced by transposable element families Ac, En/Spm and Bg.
abstract: Eight independently isolated unstable alleles of the Opaque2 (O2) locus were analysed genetically and at the DNA level. The whole series of mutations was isolated from a maize strain carrying a wild-type O2 allele and the transposable element Activator (Ac) at the wx-m7 allele. Previous work with another unstable allele of the same series has shown that it was indeed caused by the insertion of an Ac element. Unexpectedly, the remaining eight mutations were not caused by the designated Ac element, but by other insertions that are structurally similar or identical to one of two different autonomous transposable elements. Six mutations were caused by the insertion of a transposable element of the Enhancer/Suppressor-Mutator (En/Spm) family. Two mutations were the result of the insertion of a transposable element of the Bergamo (Bg) family. Genetic tests carried out with plants carrying the unstable mutations demonstrated that all were caused by the insertion of an autonomous transposable element.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Sperimentale per la Cerealicoltura, Sezione di Bergamo, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hartings
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lanzini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motto
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Riboldi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Salamini
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Döring
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D001483:Base Sequence; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006720:Homozygote; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D009154:Mutation; D010940:Plant Proteins; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C067402:opaque-2 protein, Zea mays