TRANSPOSON-ASSOCIATED SOMATIC GAI-LOSS SECTORS IN ARABIDOPSIS

The gai mutation of Arabidopsis confers reduced gibberellin responses, and is inherited as a semidominant trait. Somatic sectors displaying wild-type phenotype were observed in plants which were heterozygous fo r gai and for a linked Ds element, and which also contained a source o f the Ac transposase function. The frequency of these sectors was corr elated with the level of transposase conferred by the transposase sour ce, suggesting that the sectors are the result of transposon activity. The appearance of the sectors indicates that gai phenotype is restric ted to cells containing a functional gai gene copy. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.