Abstract
The maize Viviparous-1 (Vp1) gene is associated with biosynthesis of carotenoids, abscisic acid (ABA), embryo storage proteins, and other factors related to quiescence during embryo maturation. Acquisition of desiccation tolerance in developing maize embryos requires a threshold sucrose to raffinose mass ratio of 10 to 1 or lower. Three mutant vp1 alleles were used to determine if the Vp1 gene regulates raffinose accumulation and the onset of desiccation tolerance in isolated embryos. Embryos of wild type Vp1-R kernels (purple, non—viviparous) acquired tolerance to slow drying at 18 to 22 days after pollination (DAP) and to fast drying at 22 to 30 DAP, coincident with a sucrose to raffinose mass ratio of 10 to 1 or less. Embryos of mutant vp1-R kernels (yellow, viviparous) accumulated only small amounts of raffinose, the sucrose to raffinose ratio never dropped to 10 to 1, and embryos never acquired desiccation tolerance. Developing embryos of the modified mutant alleles vp1-McWhirter (ivory, non—viviparous) and vp1-1695 (yellow, non—viviparous) and wild type kernels (Vp1-McWhirter, yellow; Vp1-1695, purple) became desiccation tolerant coincident with the sucrose to raffinose mass ratio reaching a value of 10 to 1 or lower. Our results suggest that the acquisition of desiccation tolerance in developing maize embryos is related to a sucrose to raffinose mass ratio of 10 to 1 or lower and that raffinose biosynthesis occurs in the absence of a fully functional Vp1 gene product.
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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Brenac, P., Smith, M.E., Obendorf, R.L. (1997). Raffinose Series Oligosaccharides and Desiccation Tolerance of Developing Viviparous Maize Embryos. In: Ellis, R.H., Black, M., Murdoch, A.J., Hong, T.D. (eds) Basic and Applied Aspects of Seed Biology. Current Plant Science and Biotechnology in Agriculture, vol 30. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5716-2_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5716-2_11
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