Waxy strains of three amaranth grains raised by different mutations in the coding region

Waxy strains raised by waxy mutation have been found for three amaranth grains. Three genes encoding waxy protein were isolated from Amaranthus caudatus (Wx-ca), A. cruentus (Wx-cr), and A. hypochondriacus (Wx-hy). Sequence analysis indicated that the Wx-ca, Wx-cr, and Wx-hy genes contained the same exon (13 exons) and intron (12 introns) structure. The lengths of the Wx-ca, Wx-cr, and Wx-hy genes were 3,236, 3,237, and 3,225 bp, respectively. The alignment of the coding sequence of the three Waxy genes showed 12 polymorphic sites, including 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (in exons 10 and 12 and introns 1, 3, 4, 9, and 11) and 5 deletions or insertions (indels) (in introns 4, 9, and 11). In particular, major polymorphism was detected in 8- and 3-bp indels in intron 4. Moreover, the mutation in the waxy alleles (wx-ca, wx-cr, and wx-hy) of all three species was also isolated and characterized. Comparison of coding sequences of the three Waxy genes and their waxy alleles indicated one base insertion (wx-ca: insert of T base in exon 8) and a base substitution (wx-cr: a G-to-T base substitution in exon 10; wx-hy: a G-to-A base substitution in exon 6), which occurred as internal termination codon in the three Waxy genes, suggesting the involvement of a nonsense or frameshift mutation. Therefore, these different mutations in coding regions were considered to be the cause of the waxy (amylose-free) phenotype.