DISCOVERY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVEL GENES REGULATING PLANT ARCHITECTURE IN MAIZE USING FIRST FILIAL HYBRID ASSOCIATION MAPPING

The objective of this proposal is to utilize a genetic screen using dominant maize mutants that show variation in leaf angle (LA) and plant height (PH) to identify novel loci and alleles regulating plant architecture.My long-term goalis to develop a cost-effective gene discovery platform in maize utilizing existing genomic resources to identify novel genes regulating plant architecture.To meet these goals, I have proposed anF1 hybrid association mapping (FOAM) approach that uses dominant architectural mutants of maize in crosses to a panel of diverse maize inbred lines with known SNP genotypes. I will quantify trait severity of the mutant phenotypes in hundreds of F1 hybrid progenies, and conduct GWA to identify loci at high genetic resolution that modify mutant phenotype. The discovery of novel loci will not only improve our basic understanding of plant morphology but has the potential to improve maize yield. I propose the following objectives:Perform FOAM using dominant mutants of maize influencing PH and LA to discover genes modifying these traitsIdentify causative genes for novel mutants of PH and LAConfirm molecular identity of candidate genes by generating independent allelesAnalyze gene expression consequences in dominant mutants of PH and LA