Peer-review: Yes - Open Access: Yes|http://science.thomsonreuters.com/cgi-bin/jrnlst/jlresults.cgi?PC=MASTER&ISSN=1943-2631

Free Access

In previous studies of somatic segregation in relation to atypical growth, various alterations in color and in cellular arrangements in the endosperm of the maize kernel were described. The tissue alterations are seen as depressions and outgrowths on the surface of the mature, dry seed. They vary greatly in size and outline but are usually small and ordinarily cannot be seen readily without the aid of a low power microscope and a good light. In the earlier reports (JONES 1937, 1940) it was shown that growth changes accompanied a loss or an accumulation of chromosome parts resulting from unequal mitoses. The present study gives additional evidence and shows that the loss and accumulation of genic material which occurs is only a secondary factor. The breaking and relocation of chromosomes at specific places gives an interpretation that is more consistent with all of the facts known at the present time.

Text in English

Reprints Collection