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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2020, Vol. 19 Issue (8): 1961-1973    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(19)62797-8
Special Issue: 玉米遗传育种合辑Maize Genetics · Breeding · Germplasm Resources
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Characterization and map-based cloning of miniature2-m1, a gene controlling kernel size in maize
GUAN Hai-ying1, DONG Yong-bin2, LU Shou-ping1, LIU Tie-shan1, HE Chun-mei1, LIU Chun-xiao1, LIU Qiang1, DONG Rui1, WANG Juan1, LI Yu-ling2, QI Shi-jun1, WANG Li-ming1
1 Maize Research Institute, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/National Engineering Laboratory of Wheat and Maize/Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Maize in Northern Yellow-Huai River Plain, Ministry of Agriculture, Jinan 250100, P.R.China
2 College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University/Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Grain Crops/National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, Zhengzhou 450046, P.R.China
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Abstract  
Kernel development plays an important role in determining kernel size in maize.  Here we present the cloning and characterization of a maize gene, nitrate transporter1.5 (NRT1.5), which controls small kernel phenotype by playing an important role in kernel development.  A novel recessive small kernel mutant miniature2-m1 (mn2-m1) was isolated from self-pollinated progenies of breeding materials.  The mutant spontaneously showed small kernel character arresting both embryo and endosperm development at an early stage after pollination.  Utilizing 21 polymorphic SSR markers, the mn2-m1 locus was limited to a 209.9-kb interval using 9 176 recessive individuals of a BC1 segregating population from mn2-m1/B73.  Only one annotated gene was located in this 209.9 kb region, Zm00001d019294, which was predicted to encode nitrate transporter1.5 (NRT1.5).  Allelism tests confirmed that mn2-m1 was allelic to miniature2-m2 (mn2-m2) and miniature2-710B (mn2-710B).  The mn2-m1 and mn2-m2 alleles both had nucleotide deletions in the coding region resulting in premature termination, and the mn2-710B allele had some missence mutations.  Subcellular localization showed that Miniature 2 (MN2) is localized in the plasma membrane.  Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed that the expression of MN2 and some genes involved in the basal endosperm transfer layer (BETL) and embryo surrounding region (ESR) development were affected in mn2-m1 seeds.  These results suggested that MN2 plays an important role in maize seed development.
Keywords:  miniature2-m1        nitrate transporter1.5        frame shift mutation        allelism tests        subcellular localization  
Received: 08 April 2019   Accepted:
Fund: This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFD0101204), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31701443), the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Project of the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China (CXGC2017B01), and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, China (ZR2016CB52).
Corresponding Authors:  Correspondence GUAN Hai-ying, E-mail: guanhying@163.com; QI Shi-jun, E-mail: qisj_69@163.com; WANG Li-ming, E-mail: ymswangliming@shandong.cn   

Cite this article: 

GUAN Hai-ying, DONG Yong-bin, LU Shou-ping, LIU Tie-shan, HE Chun-mei, LIU Chun-xiao, LIU Qiang, DONG Rui, WANG Juan, LI Yu-ling, QI Shi-jun, WANG Li-ming. 2020. Characterization and map-based cloning of miniature2-m1, a gene controlling kernel size in maize. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 19(8): 1961-1973.

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