The maize () gene encodes a conserved DUF3732 domain and is homologous to the rice gene.

Maize s () is a mutant that causes white stripes on leaves that has been used in mapping studies for decades though the underlying gene has not been identified. The locus has been previously mapped to small regions of normal chromosome 10 (N10) and a rearranged variant called abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10). A comparison of assembled genomes carrying N10 and Ab10 revealed only five candidate genes. Analysis of a stock carrying the reference allele () showed that one of the five genes has a transposon insertion that disrupts its protein sequence and has a severe reduction in mRNA. An independent Mutator transposon insertion in the gene () failed to complement the mutation, and plants homozygous for showed white striped leaf margins. The gene encodes a DUF3732 protein with strong homology to a rice gene with a similar mutant phenotype called (). These and other published data suggest that may have a function in plastid gene expression.