As for my teaching stint, maybe I will talk about the fasciated mutants and seed row number, it will allow me to talk about some basic meristem biology, as well as a potential application in enhanced yield. If you want to get into QTL this might be a good place we could pair up. The outline could be posted as follows:
Making bigger (maize) ears, meristem growth and potential effects on yield.
Plant organs grow from organized groups of stem cells called meristems. Several mutations that affect meristem growth have been described, and some of these in maize cause overgrowth or fasciation of the ears and tassels. We will observe some of these mutants in the field and dissect the ears to count the number of seed rows that the ears make. Interestingly, some of the fasciated genes map to QTL for seed row number, so their allelic diversity may contribute to enhanced maize yields.
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