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Letter

Nature Genetics 39, 1517–1521 (1 December 2007) | doi:10.1038/ng.2007.20

The maize tasselseed4 microRNA controls sex determination and meristem cell fate by targeting Tasselseed6/indeterminate spikelet1

George Chuck , Robert Meeley , Erin Irish , Hajime Sakai & Sarah Hake

In maize (Zea mays), sex determination occurs through abortion of female carpels in the tassel and arrest of male stamens in the ear. The Tasselseed6 (Ts6) and tasselseed4 (ts4) mutations permit carpel development in the tassel while increasing meristem branching, showing that sex determination and acquisition of meristem fate share a common pathway.