Five independently inherited loci on five distinct chromosomes encode the mitochondrial and cytosolic isozymes of NAD-dependent malate dehydrogenase (MDH; L-malate:NAD' oxidoreductase, EC 1. 1. 1.37). Multiple alleles, including electrophoretic nulls, occur for each locus. However, a single allele of normal activity at one of the three loci encoding the mitochondrial MDHs is sufficient for normal development, whereas plants with essentially no cytosolic MDH activity function normally. The requirement of a normal activity allele at one of the three structural loci encoding the mitochondrial MDHs demonstrates in plants that a commonly studied dehydrogenase enzyme is essential for normal embryogenesis.Coleoptile sheaths from 5-day-old seedlings were used for routine electrophoretic analyses, following published procedures (4). Scutellar samples were obtained from mature kernels that had been soaked overnight; they were analyzed by published procedures (5). Immature kernel extracts were homogenized in a sucrose/sodium ascorbate buffer (4) after removal of the pericarp; they were subjected to the same conditions of electrophoresis and staining as were the coleoptilar extracts.Mitochondrial MDH antiserum was prepared against purified MDH2 homodimer from the H25 line (7).The mitochondrial isozymes of NAD-specific malate dehydrogenase (MDH; L-malate:NAD' oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.37) are associated with the tricarboxylic acid cycle and, in conjunction with the cytosolic MDH isozymes, may also participate in a proposed "malate-aspartate shuttle" for transferring reducing equivalents between the cytoplasm and mitochondria (1-3). Genetic studies have shown that the mitochondrial MDH isozymes in sporophytic tissues of maize are encoded by three independently inherited nuclear loci (Mdhl, Mdh2, and Mdh3) located on chromosomes 8, 6, and 3, respectively (4, 5); the cytosolic MDHs are encoded by two loci (Mdh4 and Mdh5) located on chromosomes 1 and 5, respectively (4)(5)(6). Multiple alleles at each locus have been reported. Gene products from the same subcellular compartment form interlocus and intralocus heterodimers, but no heterodimers are formed between cytosolic and mitochondrial subunits (4, 5). Electrophoretic null or near-null alleles, which fail to produce either electrophoretically detectable homo-or heterodimers, exist at each locus. Here we report our attempts to produce plants lacking cytosolic and mitochondrial MDH activities in order to test whether or not either function is essential for plant growth and development.
MATERIALS AND METHODSNull alleles for Mdhl, Mdh2 and Mdh5 were obtained from inbred lines Ky2l, H25, and Tx325, respectively (4). Null alleles for Mdh3 and Mdh4 were extracted from Latin American collections (Gua 159 and Bov 1032, respectively). By intercrossing stocks homozygous for nulls at different loci and by selecting appropriately among the various F2 progeny, we developed four distinct stocks, each of which was simultaneously homozygousnull at two loci: (i) Mdhl, Mdh2; (ii) Mdhl, M...