Maize grain filling (GF) and grain weight (GW) are closely associated with grain yield. In our study, the ZmARM4 locus affecting GF and GW was identified using a reverse genetics screen of UniformMutator (Mu). First, MutatorDR‐flanking sequence (MuDRFs) was isolated from the mutant by the MuDR‐amplified fragment length polymorphism method, and it was verified by cosegregation (between MuDRFs and phenotype) and linkage analyses. Second, the target gene of the MuDRFs was found to encode the Armadillo domain of the repeat protein gene families and has high expression in the GF stage. Third, association mapping between SNPs in the ZmARM4 region and the GW of 489 maize lines indicated that ZmARM4 is a functional gene that is closely related to GW. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis suggested that ZmARM4 may be relevant for the activity of sucrose transport or the number of cell divisions in endosperm cells. Therefore, ZmARM4 may be used as an important locus for maize GW in molecular breeding.

中文翻译：

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新型玉米（Zea mays）籽粒填充突变体中zmARM4基因座的分离和功能分析

玉米籽粒灌浆（GF）和籽粒重量（GW）与谷物产量密切相关。在我们的研究中，使用反向基因筛选的均匀突变体（Mu）鉴定了影响GF和GW的ZmARM4基因座。首先，通过MuDR扩增的片段长度多态性方法从突变体中分离出MutatorDR侧翼序列（MuDR Fs），并通过共分离（MuDR Fs与表型之间）和连锁分析对其进行了验证。其次，发现MuDR Fs的靶基因编码重复蛋白基因家族的犰狳结构域，并在GF阶段高表达。第三，在SNP之间的关联映射ZmARM4区和489个玉米品系的GW表明ZmARM4是与GW密切相关的功能基因。此外，生物信息学分析表明ZmARM4可能与蔗糖转运的活性或胚乳细胞中细胞分裂的数量有关。因此，ZmARM4可以作为玉米GW在分子育种中的重要场所。