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Chloroplast mutations induced by 9-aminoacridine hydrochloride are independent of the plastome mutator in Oenothera

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Abstract

Oenothera plants homozygous for the recessive plastome mutator allele (pm) show chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) mutation frequencies that are about 1,000-fold higher than spontaneous levels. The pm-encoded gene product has been hypothesized to have a function in cpDNA replication, repair and/or mutation avoidance. Previous chemical mutagenesis experiments with the alkylating agent nitroso-methyl urea (NMU) showed a synergistic effect of NMU on the induction of mutations in the pm line, suggesting an interaction between the pm-encoded gene product and one of the repair systems that corrects alkylation damage. The goal of the experiments described here was to examine whether the pm activity extends to the repair of damage caused by non-alkylating mutagens. To this end, the intercalating mutagen, 9-aminoacridine hydrochloride (9AA) was tested for synergism with the plastome mutator. A statistical analysis of the data reported here indicates that the pm-encoded gene product is not involved in the repair of the 9AA-induced mutations. However, the recovery of chlorotic sectors in plants derived from the mutagenized seeds shows that 9AA can act as a mutagen of the chloroplast genome.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Christine Chase for the mtDNA clone, David Jarrell for advice on DNA extraction, and Elaine Palucki for critical comments on the manuscript. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and the National Science Foundation (DCB 8502849, MCB 9019488 and MCB 9982600 to BBS).

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  1. Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, #37 Plant Biology Building, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA

    M. GuhaMajumdar, S. Baldwin & B. B. Sears

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  1. M. GuhaMajumdar
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  2. S. Baldwin
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  3. B. B. Sears
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Correspondence to B. B. Sears.

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Communicated by R. Hagemann

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GuhaMajumdar, M., Baldwin, S. & Sears, B.B. Chloroplast mutations induced by 9-aminoacridine hydrochloride are independent of the plastome mutator in Oenothera . Theor Appl Genet 108, 543–549 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-003-1454-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-003-1454-2

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