Developmental mutants affecting organ differentiation in rice embryo

Full text: In order to investigate the genetic regulation of organ differentiation in rice embryos, 28 embryo developmental mutants have been identified from 1420 M2 lines which were derived from 'Taichung 65' treated with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea. These were all single-locus recessive mutants. According to the characteristics of embryos in mature seeds, 28 mutants could be classified into the following five groups; (i) embryoless - 3 strains, (ii) arrested at the globular stage - 6 strains, (iii) arrested at the coleoptilar stage - 3 strains, (iv) abnormal organ differentiation - 8 strains and (v) wide variation in abnormality - 8 strains. A wide range of mutations detected in the embryogenesis suggests that a large number of genes, each of which performs a distinctive role, participates in the normal differentiation of the shoot and root. The developmental mutants obtained here will be useful for revealing the regulatory mechanism of organ differentiation. (author)