Rk. Dawe et Wz. Cande, INDUCTION OF CENTROMERIC ACTIVITY IN MAIZE BY SUPPRESSOR OF MEIOTIC DRIVE-1, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United Statesof America, 93(16), 1996, pp. 8512-8517
The Abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10) in maize causes normally-quiescent b
lacks of heterochromatin called knobs to function as meiotic centromer
es. Under these circumstances genetic markers associated with knobs ex
hibit meiotic drive, i.e., they are preferentially transmitted to prog
eny. Here we describe a mutation called suppressor of meiotic drive (s
md1) that partially suppresses meiotic drive, and demonstrate that smd
1 causes a quantitative reduction in the mobility of knobs on the meio
tic spindle. We conclude that Smd1 encodes a product that is necessary
for the activation of ectopic centromeres, and that meiotic drive occ
urs as a consequence of the resulting change in chromosome movement. A
s a genetic system, Ab10 offers a new and powerful approach for analyz
ing centromere/kinetochore function.