Brittle-1 mutant

Differences in lignification of forage crops were examined in terms of genetic, biosynthetic and environmental factors. This was achieved by comparison of brittle ecotypes of fescue (Festuca arundinacea), and brown-midrib (b.m.3)-mutants of maize (Zea mays) with the corresponding normal plants. For each plant type,... 

L.) was also found, and was readily distinguishable by a brittleness of the culm which appeared only after maturity of the plant. This mutant had a lower cellulose content, and this difference was assumed to be related to the brittleness of the culm (24). Significant differences were also found in the extractability of the lignin fractions and associated phenolic acids (25-26), suggesting that lignin formation was also affected. 

Dickinson, D. B., and Preiss, J. 1969b. Presence of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase in Shrunken-2 and Brittle-2 mutants of maize endosperm. Plant Physiol. 44, 1058-1062. 

In order for information gained from studying Arabidopsis to be of use to industry it is important to establish that mechanisms of cellulose synthesis are conserved between Arabidopsis and commercially important species such as crop plants and trees. Studies on CesA genes in rice represent a powerful example of how well the mechanism of cellulose synthesis is conserved between diverse species. Three brittle-culm mutants of rice are the result of mutations in the rice orthologues of AtCesA4, 7 and 8 (Tanaka et al. 2003). This result suggests that in secondary cell walls a very similar mechanism of both cellulose synthesis and rosette organization is conserved between rice and Arabidopsis. 

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