Maize gene review

摘要

The bif2 mutation affects all axillary meristems in the plant. The tassel has fewer branches, spikelets, florets and floral organs (McSteen et al 2001). The ear shoot, if it forms, has very few kernels. The mutant plants also have defects in vegetative development as they make fewer tillers (in a tbl mutant background) and makes one or two fewer leaves than normal. The bif2 gene encodes a serine threonine protein kinase (McSteen et al 2007) that phosphorylates auxin efflux carried ZmPINla (Skirpan etal 2009) and bHLH transcription factor BARREN STALK1 (Skirpan et al 2008). Natural variations in bif2 alleles are associated with tassel branch number and plant height (Pressoir et al 2009).