A new Arabidopsis mutant induced by ion beams affects flavonoid synthesis with spotted pigmentation in testa.
A new stable mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana with a spotted pigment in the seed coat, named anthocyanin spotted testa (ast), was induced by carbon ion irradiation. The spotted pigmentation of ast mutant was observed in immature seeds from 1-2 days after flowering (DAF), at the integument of the ovule, and spread as the seed coat formed. Anthocyanin accumulation was about 6 times higher in ast mutant than in the wild-type at 6 DAF of the immature seeds, but was almost the same in mature dry seeds. A higher anthocyanin accumulation was not observed in the seedlings, leaves or floral buds of ast mutant compared with the wild-type, which suggests that a high accumulation of anthocyanins is specific to the seed coat of the immature ast seeds. Reciprocal crosses between ast mutant and the wild-type indicated that ast is a single recessive gene mutation and segregates as a delayed inheritance. The results of crossing with tt7 and ttg mutants also confirmed that the AST gene is probably a regulatory locus that controls flavonoid biosynthesis. A mapping analysis revealed that the gene is located on chromosome I and is closely linked to the SSLP DNA marker nga280 with a distance of 3.2 cM. AST has been registered as a new mutant of Arabidopsis.
Tanaka
A
A
Advanced Science Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Gunma, Japan.
Tano
S
S
Chantes
T
T
Yokota
Y
Y
Shikazono
N
N
Watanabe
H
H
D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000032:analysis; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000528:radiation effects; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D010858:Pigmentation; D012639:Seeds
D000872:Anthocyanins