Abstract
In developing apical meristems of corn, the level of acidic, ethyl acetate-soluble gibberellin (GA)-like substances increased to a maximum of 108 micrograms GA3-equivalents per kilogram dry weight of tissue at inflorescence initiation, and then fell rapidly. At anthesis, only a trace (0.2 microgram per kilogram) of GA-like activity remained in the apical (male) inflorescences, whereas moderate activity (32 micrograms per kilogram), mostly of a nonpolar nature, was present in lateral, female, inflorescences.
A sex reversal of the apical inflorescence, from male to female, was elicited by reducing the ambient light intensity. Higher levels of GA-like substances, particularly those eluting from a SiO2 partition column in the nonpolar region, were observed at all harvests in the reverting meristems; levels increased to 180 micrograms per kilogram at inflorescence initiation, then dropped to 122 micrograms per kilogram in the apical (female), reverted meristems. This increase in endogenous GA-like activity with reversion to the female inflorescence is consistent with observations that (a) reversion can be obtained with exogenous application of GA3 and (b) maleness is enhanced in GA-deficient mutants of maize. Endogenous GAs may thus play a key role in the control of sexuality of corn.
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