The dominant inhibitory chalcone synthase allele C2-Idf (inhibitor diffuse) from Zea mays (L.) acts via an endogenous RNA silencing mechanism.

ABSTRACT: The flavonoid pigment pathway in plants has been used as a model system for studying gene regulatory mechanisms. C2-Idf is a stable dominant mutation of the chalcone synthase gene, c2, which encodes the first dedicated enzyme in this biosynthetic pathway of maize. Homozygous C2-Idf plants show no pigmentation. This allele also inhibits expression of functional C2 alleles in heterozygotes, producing a less pigmented condition instead of the normal deeply pigmented phenotype. To explore the nature of this effect, the C2-Idf allele was cloned. The gene structure of the C2-Idf haplotype differs substantially from that of the normal c2 gene in that three copies are present. Two of these are located in close proximity to each other in a head-to-head orientation and the third is closely linked. P

SUBMITTER: Della Vedova CB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1449766 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature