Jasmonate: Preventing the Maize Tassel from Getting in Touch with His Feminine Side
Abstract
Reproduction of angiosperm plants is central to many aspects of global ecosystem biology and has been a determining factor in the rise and success of world civilizations. Many plants have developed mechanisms that favor outcrossing rather than self-fertilization. In maize (Zea mays), separate male and female flowers develop on a single plant. Sex determination in the male floral structure, the tassel, depends on signaling through the tasselseed (ts) pathway. Mutations affecting this pathway, such as ts1 and ts2, cause development of female flowers on the tassel. Cloning of ts1 and identification of the TS1 protein as an enzyme involved in jasmonate synthesis have revealed that jasmonate, an oxylipin plant hormone derived from linolenic acid, is an essential signal in determining male identity in the maize tassel.
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Published In
Science Signaling
Volume 2 | Issue 59
February 2009
February 2009
Copyright
Copyright © 2009, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Acknowledgments
37.I am indebted to all the researchers in my laboratory who have contributed to our investigation of jasmonate signaling. The title is an allusion to lyrics from an Alice Cooper song: “…stop running, stop hiding, just wanna get in touch with your feminine side.” Research on jasmonate in my laboratory is supported by grant DE-FG02-99ER20323 from the U.S. Department of Energy and by the Agricultural Research Center at Washington State University.
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