PHENYLBORIC ACID,A CHEMICAL AGENT SIMULATING THE EFFECT OF THE LANCEOLATE GENE IN THE TOMATO

Lanceolate, a spontaneously occurring mutant in the tomato, which has 1 dosage of the mutant gene, causes a change in the shape of the leaf from the odd-pinnately compound leaf characteristic of the normal tomato plant to a simple, much-reduced in size lanceolate leaf. Homozygous mutant plants, which have 2 dosages of the mutant gene, exhibit extreme lanceolate features, producing a simple narrow leaf, similar in shape to the lanceolate leaf but much smaller in size. The mutant allele of the lanceolate gene causes, in addition to the change in leaf form, the increase in activities of the following oxidative enzymes: tyrosinase, laccase, peroxidase and catalase. The lanceolate gene exhibits a dosage effect with respect to these enzymes, homozygous lanceolate showing the highest activity; heterozygous lanceolate, an intermediate; and normal, the lowest activity. Treatment of germinating normal tomato seeds with phenylboric acid simulated the effect of the mutant allele of the lanceolate gene with regard to both the induction of a lanceolate leaf and the increase in the activity of the above 4 oxidative enzymes; phenylboric acid treatment resulted in relatively higher increase in the activities of the oxidative enzymes in normal and heterozygous lanceolate than in homozygous lanceolate. A direct and close relationship existed between the shape of the leaf and the activity of the enzymes during leaf development. It is suggested that the mutant allele of the lanceolate gene, as well as phenylboric acid, induces an increase in activity of the oxidative enzymes and that this increase in enzyme activities brings about the orderly change in form.     

A MORPHOGENETIC STUDY OF LANCEOLATE,A LEAF-SHAPE MUTANT IN THE TOMATO

Mathan , D. S., and J. A. Jenkins . (U. California, Berkeley.) A morphogenetic study of lanceolate, a leaf-shape mutant in the tomato . Amer. Jour. Bot. 49(5): 504–514. Illus. 1962.—The single-gene mutant, lanceolate (La/La⁺), which has simple, entire leaves rather than the oddpinnately compound leaves of the normal tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), differs from normal (La⁺/La⁺) in many characters which can be related to fewer and larger cells in meristematic regions. The homozygous lanceolate (La/La) is sometimes lethal, but is usually expressed as reduced, which consists of a hypocotyl without cotyledons, or occasionally either by modified, in which there is a single fused cotyledon and a bud, or by narrow, in which the bud produces a shoot with simple leaves even smaller than those of lanceolate and a tendril-like inflorescence without flowers. In an attempt to overcome the effect produced by the lanceolate gene, the mutant was treated with a number of substances. Embryos without cotyledons cultured in White's medium plus adenine or tyrosine or both gave a higher frequency of narrow plants. With added gibberellic acid, no narrow plants developed from embryos without cotyledons. When tyrosine was sprayed on young narrow plants, they developed larger leaves and morphologically normal but sterile flowers. On the other hand, gibberellic acid sprayed on young lanceolate plants altered their development in the direction of narrow.     

酶的基因剂量效应及其对鱼类远缘杂交的影响

亲缘关系较远的杂种二倍体,酶的表达出现父本基因受抑制,双亲基因表达迟缓和母本基因提前表达三种类型的紊乱。由于双亲等位基因不亲和,各等位基因只调控产生1／2的基因产物,从而致使胚胎出现“双单倍体综合症”而在孵化期全部死亡。远缘杂交三倍体由于母本基因剂量加倍,一方面抑制了父本基因的表达,消除了不协调基因活动的干扰,另一方面母本基因产物趋于正常,代谢得以正常进行,杂种后代能成活并正常生长。     

NUCLEAR GENE DOSAGE EFFECTS ON MITOCHONDRIAL MASS AND DNA

In order to assess the effect of nuclear gene dosage on the regulation of mitochondria we have studied serial sections of a set of isogenic haploid and diploid cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, growing exponentially in the absence of catabolite repression, and determined the amount of mitochondrial DNA per cell. Mitochondria accounted for 14% of the cytoplasmic and 12% of the total cellular volume in all cells examined regardless of their ploidy or their apparent stage in the cell cycle. The mean number of mitochondria per cell was 22 in the diploid and 10 in the haploids. The volume distribution appeared unimodal and identical in haploids and diploids. The mitochondrial DNA accounted for 12.6 ± 1.2% and 13.5 ± 1.3% of the total cellular DNA in the diploid and haploid populations, respectively. These values correspond to 3.6 x 10^-15 g, 2.2 x 10⁹ daltons, or 44 genomes (50 x 10⁶ daltons each) per haploid and twice that per diploid cell. On this basis, the average mitochondrion in these cells contains four mitochondrial genomes in both the haploid and the diploid.     

COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMICAL STUDY OF TWO ALLELIC FORMS OF A GENE AFFECTING LEAF-SHAPE IN THE TOMATO

Through successive selfing of lanceolate, a leaf-shape mutant in the tomato, the 3 leaf-shape forms, namely, normal (La⁺/La⁺), lanceolate (La⁺/La), and homozygous lanceolate (La/La), were obtained in a uniform genetic background. The mutant allele lanceolate causes the increase in activities of the following oxidative enzymes: tyrosinase, laccase, peroxidase and catalase. The lanceolate gene exhibits a dosage effect with respect to these enzymes; the homozygous lanceolate shows the highest activity, heterozygous lanceolate is intermediate, and normal shows the lowest activity. The relative differences in activity of these enzymes between the 3 genotypes persist at all stages of development and in all organs examined.     

THE EFFECTS OF GENE FLOW ON REINFORCEMENT

We explore the possibility that differences in the pattern of gene flow between populations may affect the evolution of reinforcement by comparing pairs of populations undergoing one-way migration versus symmetric migration. The case of symmetric migration is modeled by a two-island model, where the two populations exchange equal proportions of migrants each generation. One-way migration is modeled by a continent-island model, where migration is in one direction from a large continental population with a fixed genotype to an island population whose genotype frequencies can vary. Hybrid inviability is assumed to be caused by epistatic interactions between background loci. We examine the spread of an introduced preference allele for a previously unpreferred male trait that characterizes one of the populations. Computer simulations indicate that with a weak introduced preference, reinforcement is possible under a wide range of parameter values in a symmetric migration model but cannot occur in a one-way migration model. Reinforcement with one-way migration can occur only with a very strong introduced preference and very strong selection against hybrids. Our results suggest that the speciation of a peripheral isolate, which undergoes essentially one-way migration, may be difficult to complete if secondary contact occurs before reproductive isolation is fully developed.     

PLEIOTROPIC EFFECTS ON SEED DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDETERMINATE GAMETOPHYTE GENE IN MAIZE

Not more than half the seeds borne by maize plants of the W23 inbred strain, homozygous for a mutant gene termed “indeterminate gametophyte” (ig), develop normally. The remainder exhibit polyembryony (6 %), heterofertilization (7 %), elevated ploidy level of the endosperm (45 %), or other less frequent anomalies. The ig effects were identified and characterized by chromosome counts and genetic tests. Twins were regularly found to be diploid and concordant for heterozygous marker genes introduced maternally. When the marker genes were introduced paternally, twins frequently were non-concordant, or the embryo and endosperm phenotypes did not correspond. The proportion of the various types and the absence of conjoined embryos indicated that, although identical in their maternal inheritance, the twins were regularly dizygotic. Those twins identical in paternal inheritance probably originate from the fertilization of two genetically identical eggs by the two sperm of one male gametophyte. When ig ig compared to normal diploid plants were pollinated by tetraploids, the proportion of plump seed formed was markedly increased. Evidently this result is the consequence of elevation of the endosperm ploidy level by the ig gene. The ig gene thus appears to interfere with differentiation of the components of the female gametophyte so that the number of eggs and polar nuclei, instead of being one and two, is indeterminate.     

SOME EFFECTS OF NITROGEN SUPPLY ON THE INFECTION OF TOMATO PLANTS WITH TOMATO SPOTTED WILT VIRUS

The susceptibility of tomato plants to systemic infection by tomato spotted wilt virus was increased by increasing nitrogen supply to levels above that optimal for growth. The virus content, estimated by local-lesions counts, was also raised by increasing nitrogen. The period between inoculation and the appearance of systemic symptoms was decreased by increasing nitrogen to a point slightly greater than the optimal level for growth, but increased by additional applications.
Infected plants receiving more nitrate or ammonium compounds than were needed for optimal growth showed abnormal leaf symptoms and no bronzing. N, P and Mg analyses showed that these symptoms were related primarily to nitrogen content. Such leaves contained more virus than bronzed leaves.