Abstract
In corn seedlings (Zea mays L.) homozygous for the mutation gl5, the surface waxes are characteristically altered. In this mutant the main wax constituents (83.5%) are aldehydes while in the normal waxes alcohols predominate (62.7%). Moreover, in the normal waxes aldehydes and alcohols are made up mainly of the C32 term (99%), whereas in gl5 waxes the principal aldehyde is still C32 (90.7%) but the free alcohol composition pattern is noticeably modified. Here the predominant terms are C24, C26, and C28, with C32 representing only 16.6% of the total. The results indicate that the mutant induces a block in the synthesis of fatty alcohols while accumulating fatty aldehydes, the substrates from which the alcohols originate.
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This study was supported by funds from the Italian CNR (Rome).
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Bianchi, G., Avato, P. & Salamini, F. Glossy mutants of maize. VIII. Accumulation of fatty aldehydes in surface waxes of gl5 maize seedlings. Biochem Genet 16, 1015–1021 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00483751
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00483751