EMS Mutagenesis of Arabidopsis Seeds

C Stewart Gillmor; Wolfgang Lukowitz

doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-0342-0_2

EMS Mutagenesis of Arabidopsis Seeds

Methods Mol Biol. 2020:2122:15-23. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0342-0_2.

Authors

C Stewart Gillmor¹, Wolfgang Lukowitz²

Affiliations

¹ Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad (Langebio), Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Irapuato, Mexico.
² Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. lukowitz@uga.edu.

PMID: 31975292
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0342-0_2

Abstract

The ethylating agent ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) is widely used for inducing random point mutations. In Arabidopsis, treatment with EMS causes GC-to-AT transitions with great efficiency: it has been estimated that a population of 50,000 well-mutagenized plants harbors one or more transitions in almost every GC pair of the genome. These properties, combined with ease of use, make EMS a mutagen of choice for genetic screens. Here, we describe a protocol for mutagenizing Arabidopsis seed with EMS. In addition, we briefly consider the germ line sectors typically induced by this treatment, and approaches for estimating the rate of induced mutations.

Keywords: Embryo defective; Genetic mosaic; Germ line sector; Mutagenesis efficiency; Seed mutant.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Arabidopsis / drug effects*
Arabidopsis / genetics
Ethyl Methanesulfonate / pharmacology*
Mutagenesis / drug effects*
Mutagens / pharmacology*
Mutation / drug effects
Mutation Rate
Seeds / drug effects*
Seeds / genetics

Substances

Mutagens
Ethyl Methanesulfonate