Are all mutants bad?

1
Are all mutants bad?

• Mendel Workshop

2
Mutant

• An individual that has a heritable change in its
  DNA resulting in a novel phenotype, ie. a new
  allele.

3
How we perceive mutants
4
The good mutants
5
Sweet corn

• Single gene mutations in several different starch
  biosynthesis genes have been introduced into
  field corn to produce the sweet corn we eat
  today.
• shrunken, sugary, amylose extender

6
Indian corn

• Single gene mutations in the anthocyanin
  (pigment) production pathway lead to the colored
  kernels we see on an ear of Indian corn.

7
Waxy1

• A mutation in the waxy gene has been used in
  production of tapioca.

8
Useful mutations

• Disease resistance genes
• Anthocyanin genes
• Insect resistance genes
• Glossy mutants
• Flowering time genes

9

• www.maizegdb.org/cgi-bin/imagebrowser_phenotypes.c
  gi