Expression of cell wall related genes in basal and ear internodes of silking brown-midrib-3 caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) down-regulated and normal maize plants

摘要

BackgroundSilage maize is a major forage and energy resource for cattle feeding, and several studies have shown that lignin content and structure are the determining factors in forage maize feeding value. In maize, four natural brown-midrib mutants have modified lignin content, lignin structure and cell wall digestibility. The greatest lignin reduction and the highest cell wall digestibility were observed in the brown-midrib-3 (bm3) mutant, which is disrupted in the caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene.