Scientists Pinpoint Gene Essential for Ear Development in Corn

David Jackson and colleagues from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the U.S. have identified a gene that plays an essential role in controlling the development of maize plants. The researchers found that a gene called spi1 (sparse inflorescence1) is involved in maize plant’s synthesis of the growth hormone auxin. The hormone is known to control plant organ development and shoot apical dominance.

The scientists found out that silencing the expression of spi1 resulted to plants with stunted, defective organs. The initial stage of plant organs are called meristems, undifferentiated cells analogous to stem cells found in animals. It is known that meristems emerge from interplay between the synthesis of auxin by various cells and its motion between them.

“Our work helped demonstrate that spi1 in maize has evolved a dominant role in auxin biosynthesis, and is essential for what we plant scientists call inflorescence development - the process in seed plants in which a shoot forms that supports the plant’s flowers,” Jackson said.

Download the paper published by PNAS at http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0805596105 For more information, read http://www.cshl.edu/public/releases/08_corn.html