title: tassel-less1 encodes a boron channel protein required for inflorescence development in maize.
abstract: tassel-less1 (tls1) is a classical maize (Zea mays) inflorescence mutant. Homozygous mutant plants have no tassels or very small tassels, and ear development is also impaired. Using a positional cloning approach, ZmNIP3;1 (a NOD26-like intrinsic protein) was identified as the candidate gene for tls1. The ZmNIP3;1 gene is completely deleted in the tls1 mutant genome. Two Mutator-insertional TUSC alleles of ZmNIP3;1 exhibited tls1-like phenotypes, and allelism tests confirmed that the tls1 gene encodes ZmNIP3;1. Transgenic plants with an RNA interference (RNAi) construct to down-regulate ZmNIP3;1 also showed tls1-like phenotypes, further demonstrating that TLS1 is ZmNIP3;1. Sequence analysis suggests that ZmNIP3;1 is a boron channel protein. Foliar application of boron could rescue the tls1 phenotypes and restore the normal tassel and ear development. Gene expression analysis indicated that in comparison with that of the wild type or tls1 plants treated with boron, the transition from the vegetative to reproductive phase or the development of the floral meristem is impaired in the shoot apical meristem of the tls1 mutant plants. It is concluded that the tls1 mutant phenotypes are caused by impaired boron transport, and boron is essential for inflorescence development in maize.
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 200 Powder Mill Road, Wilmington, DE 19880, USA.
authors.forename: April
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 200 Powder Mill Road, Wilmington, DE 19880, USAPresent address: USDA, ARS Honeybee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Laboratory, Baton Rouge, LA 70820, USA.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Holloway
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 7300 NW 62nd Ave, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 7300 NW 62nd Ave, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rupe
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 7300 NW 62nd Ave, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.
authors.forename: GongXin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 7300 NW 62nd Ave, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beatty
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 7300 NW 62nd Ave, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zastrow-Hayes
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 7300 NW 62nd Ave, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meeley
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 200 Powder Mill Road, Wilmington, DE 19880, USA.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Llaca
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 200 Powder Mill Road, Wilmington, DE 19880, USA.
authors.forename: Karlene
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 7300 NW 62nd Ave, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stefani
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 200 Powder Mill Road, Wilmington, DE 19880, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jaqueth
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer, 200 Powder Mill Road, Wilmington, DE 19880, USA bailin.li@cgr.dupont.com.
authors.forename: Bailin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001692:Biological Transport; D001895:Boron / Q000378:metabolism*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D015723:Gene Library; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D056626:Inflorescence / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018519:Meristem / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D012098:Reproduction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D001895:Boron
keywords: Boron; Boron channel protein; Tassel; Tassel-less1; Zea mays; ZmNIP3;1