Fine mapping of Leafy, a dominant mutant conferring extra leaves above the ear in maize

Leafy (lfy1) is a dominant maize mutant with more leaves above the ear. In this study, we examined the inheritance patterns of this mutant and attempted to identify the lfy1 gene locus. It is found that the lfy1 was not completely phenotypically dominant in three F2-segregating populations derived from the lfy1 mutant. In the lfy1 × B73 F2-segregating population, Leafy phenotype appeared to be controlled by a single dominant gene. Then, 4830 non-leafy individuals from this population were used for fine mapping of the lfy1 gene with newly developed markers. Finally, the lfy1 gene was assigned to a 55-kb interval of Chromosome 3 flanked by InDel072028 and InDel458095. Only two genes, GRMZM2G072052 and GRMZM2G072080, were in this region based on the B73 reference sequence. The polymorphism markers on the two candidate genes were all cosegregated with the leafy phenotype. Our study will contribute to further isolation and functional analysis of lfy1 gene.