Sequencing de novo Mu transposon insertions across maize tissues

We sequenced insertion sites for the maize Mutator (Mu) transposon in leaf, root, endosperm, and pollen from Mu-active plants and Mu-inactive controls. Inherited insertions were identified using matched tissues, and then the abundance of de novo (post-zygotic) insertions was quantified and converted to variant allele frequencies (VAF). This dataset provides insight into the abundance of new transposon insertions within heterogeneous tissues and factors that shape mutation accumulation in multicellular organisms. Matched tissues were collected from Mu-active plants. Endosperm samples were first obtained by seed chipping; then the chipped seed was grown to collect V2 seedling leaves, primary root, and pollen at maturity (collected between 9 and 11 AM). Two genotypes were used for these experiments: (1) Mu-active plants, generated by crossing a mu-active male parent to a mu-inactive female parent, both of the W22 maize inbred background, and (2) Mu-inactive plants, which was the W22 mu-inactive female parent of #1.