A Mitochondrial Mutator System in Maize

The P2 line of maize (Zea mays) is characterized by mitochondrial genome destabilization, initiated by recessive nuclear mutations. These alleles alter copy number control of mitochondrial subgenomes and disrupt normal transfer of mitochondrial genomic components to progeny, resulting in differences in mitochondrial DNA profiles among sibling plants and between parents and progeny. The mitochondrial DNA changes are often associated with variably defective phenotypes, reflecting depletion of essential mitochondrial genes. The P2 nuclear genotype can be considered a natural mutagenesis system for maize mitochondria. It dramatically accelerates mitochondrial genomic divergence by increasing low copy-number subgenomes, by rapidly amplifying aberrant recombination products, and by causing the random loss of normal components of the mitochondrial genomes.