Variegation patterns caused by excision of the maize transposable element Dissociation (Ds) are autonomously regulated by allele-specific Activator (Ac) elements and are not due to trans-acting modifier genes

The Ac elements present in the unstable wxm7 and wx-m9 alleles of maize trigger different patterns of Ds excision in trans. To determine whether this differential regulation is a feature of the Ac alleles themselves or is mediated by genetically distinct factors, maize plants heterozygous for the wx-m7 and wx-m9 alleles were crossed to tester strains homozygous for Ds reporter alleles. Kernels showing the variegation pattern characteristic for the Ac elements carried in the wx-m7 and wx-m9 alleles were found to be present in the ratios expected from the genetic constitution of the strains. The aleurone variegation caused by excision of the Ds reporter element and the endosperm variegation caused by excision of Ac from the wx-m7 and wx-m9 alleles themselves segregated with the original wx-m alleles. In addition, stable Wx and wx derivatives of wx-m9 that have lost Ac no longer exert any trans effect on the wx-m7 allele (and vice versa). Therefore it is concluded that the observed variegation patterns are autonomously determined by specific trans effects of the particular Ac element.