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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1996 Aug 6;93(16):8512–8517. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.16.8512

Induction of centromeric activity in maize by suppressor of meiotic drive 1.

R K Dawe 1, W Z Cande 1
PMCID: PMC38703  PMID: 8710901

Abstract

The Abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10) in maize causes normally-quiescent blocks of heterochromatin called knobs to function as meiotic centromeres. Under these circumstances genetic markers associated with knobs exhibit meiotic drive, i.e., they are preferentially transmitted to progeny. Here we describe a mutation called suppressor of meiotic drive (smd1) that partially suppresses meiotic drive, and demonstrate that smd1 causes a quantitative reduction in the mobility of knobs on the meiotic spindle. We conclude that Smd1 encodes a product that is necessary for the activation of ectopic centromeres, and that meiotic drive occurs as a consequence of the resulting change in chromosome movement. As a genetic system, Ab10 offers a new and powerful approach for analyzing centromere/kinetochore function.

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Selected References

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