Class 4 Mutants

Member lines: bm-16, bm-20

Gross epicuticular wax phenotype: Bloomless

Epicuticular wax morphology:

(see Jenks et al., 1992 and scanning electron micrograph to the right of this table)

tissue	cork-silica cell associated wax	cuticle wax
leaf sheath (abaxial surface)	filaments and globs	sparse plates
leaf blade (abaxial surface)	small globs	sparse plates

Linkage group: bm5

Genotype: bm5bm5HH

Epicuticular wax load:

(data from Agronomy Farm trial 1992)

line	abaxial leaf sheath	leaf blade
bm-16	0.33 +/- 0.12	0.42 +/- 0.08
bm-20	0.43 +/- 0.06	0.59 +/- 0.14

Leaf sheath epicuticular wax chemistry:

Leaf sheath epicuticular wax free fatty acids

FFA homologue	% total FFAs	load (mg/cm2)
C16	18.0	0.39
C18	15.5	0.33
C20	1.22	0.03
C22	1.91	0.04
C24	1.99	0.04
C26	1.39	0.03
C28	49.3	1.03
C30	10.5	0.22
C32	0.22	<.01
total	100	2.12

These lines have sheath wax containing only 57% free fatty acids.

Agronomic characters:

Plants are usually stunted in growth and form no basal tillers. Some waxy bloom can be seen on close inspection, appearing as a fringe on the edges of leaf sheaths (see image at right).

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