Mapping factors controlling genetic expression.

A methodology relying on two-dimensional (2D) electrophoresis and genetic mapping is proposed to dissect the genetic architecture of the quantitative control of gene products. Seventy-two anonymous polypeptide spots resolved using silver-stained high-resolution 2D gels of maize coleoptile extracts were automatically quantified for every individual of an F 2 progeny between distant lines. A complete genetic linkage map, including 70 RFLP and 39 protein markers, allowed us to map Mendelian factors underlying quantitative variation for 42 polypeptides. One to 5 unlinked chromosomal regions were found to affect single polypeptides, 27% of which resulted in more than a doubling of the polypeptide spot intensity