Plant Biol (Stuttg) 2007; 9(1): 30-31
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-924563
Acute View

Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart KG · New York

An Alternate Hypothesis to Explain the High Frequency of “Revertants” in Hothead Mutants in Arabidopsis

L. Krishnaswamy1 , T. Peterson1
  • 1Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Molecular Biology Building, Ames, IA 50011, USA
Further Information

Publication History

Received: June 23, 2006

Accepted: August 2, 2006

Publication Date:
17 October 2006 (online)

Abstract

Lolle et al. reported a high frequency of genomic changes in Arabidopsis plants carrying the hothead mutation and proposed that the changes observed were the result of a gene correction system mediated by a hypothetical RNA cache. Here, we propose a very different hypothesis to explain the data reported by Lolle et al. Our hypothesis is based on a relatively straightforward developmental aberration in which maternal cells (“Legacy cells”) fuse with the developing embryo, resulting in a chimera, which could then give rise to the aberrant genetic segregations reported by Lolle et al.

References

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L. Krishnaswamy

Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology
Iowa State University

Molecular Biology Building

Ames, IA 50011

USA

Email: kln@iastate.edu

Editor: F. Salamini

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