Controlling-element events at the shrunken locus in maize.

We have examined insertions of the controlling element Ds at the Shrunken locus of maize. A cDNA probe complementary to a portion of the Shrunken locus mRNA was prepared. This probe recognizes a unique sequence in maize DNA. Using lines carrying derivatives of the same short arm of chromosome 9, we have detected modifications at the nucleic acid level caused by Ds. The changes appear to be large insertions, one of which may be more than 20 kilobase pairs in length. These observations provide a basis for the isolation and molecular characterization of one of the maize controlling elements.