The Maize Genetics Cooperation * Stock Center

Published in Probe Volume 4(3-4): August 1994-January 1995

Martin M. Sachs, Philip S. Stinard,
Janet M. Day and Earl B. Patterson
USDA/ARS/MWA - Plant Physiology and Genetics Research Unit
University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
Department of Agronomy
Urbana, IL

The Maize Genetics Cooperation originated at an evening get-together in R.A. Emerson's hotel room during the 1928 Genetics Society of America meeting. During that meeting a dozen or so maize workers discussed the current state of maize linkage maps.

The formal organization of the Maize Genetics Cooperation occurred in August 1932, when maize geneticists attending the 6th International Genetics Congress agreed to establish a cooperative enterprise to further the advance of maize genetics. Among the aims of this organization was the collection and dissemination of unpublished maize data and information to interested workers and the maintenance and distribution of tester stocks (Rhoades, 1984)

The establishment of the Maize Genetics Cooperation promoted the sharing of genetic marker stocks that have been developed by maize geneticists over the years in a spirit of cooperation and generosity. Marcus M. Rhoades was asked to serve as custodian of the Maize Genetics Cooperation and was therefore the first secretary of the Maize Genetics Cooperation * Newsletter (present secretary is Ed Coe, USDA/ARS & University of Missouri-Columbia) and the first director of the Maize Genetics Cooperation * Stock Center.

In 1953, Marcus Rhoades and Earl Patterson moved the collection of maize stocks from Cornell University to the University of Illinois in Urbana. The Maize Genetics Cooperation * Stock Center has been a major part of the UI Department of Agronomy since then, being directed by faculty members Bob Lambert (16 years) and Earl Patterson (20 years).

Over the past 15 years, USDA/ARS began playing an increasingly active role in supporting the operations of the Stock Center. While the Maize Genetics Cooperation * Stock Center continues to be housed in the UI Department of Agronomy, in 1992 ARS took over the day-to-day operations of the Stock Center and an ARS scientist was appointed as Director. In 1993, an ARS support scientist was appointed to serve as Curator.

Presently, Marty Sachs serves as Director, Philip Stinard serves as Curator and Janet Day serves the Stock Center as a Research Specialist with the University of Illinois Department of Agronomy. Earl Patterson, who retired in 1993, continues to be active in serving the Stock Center.

The Maize Genetics Cooperation * Stock Center is now the main repository for maize mutants utilized in research by cooperators worldwide. It is an essential resource to maize scientists conducting basic and applied biological research. It is the goal of the Maize Genetics Cooperation * Stock Center to acquire, maintain and make available stocks containing all known allelic and cytological variation in maize and information about them. Information about maize mutants and chromosomal aberrations as well as their use in biological research has been published over the years (e.g., Coe et al, 1988; Carlson, 1988; Sheridan, 1982; Neuffer et al, 1968). This information is presently being incorporated into the Maize Genome Database that is under development by Ed Coe and colleagues. Any available stock(s) will be sent upon request without charge.

Mutant alleles are useful to maize scientists in many different areas of research. These mutations act as coordinates on genetic or physical maps of the maize genome. In addition, many define critical steps in metabolic, developmental, and other pathways of great interest to geneticists, physiologists, breeders, molecular biologists, chemists and other maize scientists. The materials at the Stock Center are also available to educational institutions for teaching purposes.

While the vast majority of the mutants in the collection are too extreme for commercial use and are not usually evaluated and maintained with a view to their direct use in improving agricultural production or products, some of the mutants in our collection clearly have had a major impact of commercial importance. These include the white endosperm mutants, several of the mutants involved in starch biosynthesis (e.g., su1 and sh2 have been important in sweet corn production, wx1 gives starch high in amylopectin, ae1 gives starch high in amylose), and ig1 for use in making double haploids enabling the rapid production of new inbred lines or placing a desired inbred genotype into a new cytoplasmic background (e.g., male sterile). The other mutants give maize scientists a greater understanding of corn as a biological organism and thus can lead to applications that will improve corn agronomically.

Changes at the Maize Genetics Cooperation * Stock Center since 1992

1. A reel-type irrigation system was obtained that should provide much greater assurance of perpetuating field-grown stocks that are weak or ill-adapted to heat or drought stress conditions.

2. A new low-humidity coldroom has been built, essentially doubling our seed storage capacity. This additional capacity found immediate use for storage of seed samples that were held at room temperature pending availability of supplementary long-term storage. It will also be needed in the near future for stocks anticipated to be received from other established collections. The new coldroom is already currently serving as a repository for newly acquired maize collections. We have obtained stocks from the collections of Marcus Rhoades, George Sprague, Barbara McClintock, and Donald Robertson, and are in the process of obtaining stocks from the collections of Charles Burnham and Walton Galinat. We expect the collection to expand considerably over the next few years to accommodate the collections of maize geneticists retiring from active research.

3. We have purchased two Macintosh computers that are hooked into the Internet. We have started accepting stock requests via e-mail (our internet address is maize@uiuc.edu). We are in the process of entering stock pedigree and availability data into our internal database. This information will make pedigree analysis and planting decisions easier. It is anticipated that computerizing the Stock Center's data will enable us to enhance our service to the maize research community.

4. We have been collaborating with Ed Coe's efforts in creating a Maize Genome database. This is part of the Plant Genome database effort being sponsored by the National Agricultural Library. We have plans to tie our internal database in with MaizeDB (and therefore also with the PGD at NAL and also with GRIN [Germplasm Resources Information Network]) to allow users access to the latest information about available maize genetic stocks. Presently, our list of available stocks is accessible via Gopher and the World Wide Web (WWW) from PGD and MaizeDB (the full Sybase version is also accessible by the public). With the help of Quinn Sinnott, data on available maize genetic stocks has also been entered into GRIN. A list of available stocks will continue to be published annually as part of the Maize Genetics Cooperation * Newsletter.

   We anticipate that in addition to current methods for requesting stocks (mail, phone, FAX and e-mail), a user will be able to find a stock of interest in an on-line database and directly request stocks from within the database program. The request will be transmitted electronically through the Internet to us. We hope to have direct ordering available via Gopher, WWW and from the MaizeDB Sybase database soon.

5. Research programs are being established at the Maize Genetics Cooperation * Stock Center. Our goal is to establish a center for Maize Genetics research that will enhance our service to the maize genetics community. For further information, or sending in a seed request, one can contact us at:

References

Carlson, W.R. 1988. The cytogenetics of corn. In: Corn and Corn Improvement, 3rd Edition, Edited by G.F. Sprague and J.W. Dudley, pp. 259-344, American Society of Agronomy

Coe, E.H., Neuffer, M.G. and Hoisington, D.A. 1988. The genetics of corn. In: Corn and Corn Improvement, 3rd Edition, Edited by G.F. Sprague and J.W. Dudley, pp. 81-258, American Society of Agronomy

Neuffer, M.G., Jones, L., Zuber, M.S. 1968. The Mutants of Maize. 74 p. Crop Society of America

Rhoades, M. M. 1984. The Early Years of Maize Genetics. Ann. Rev. Genet. 18, 1-29

Sheridan, W.F. 1982. Maize for Biological Research. 434 p. Plant Molecular Biology Association