A reduction in number and an increase in size of inflorescences is a common aspect of plant domestication. When maize was domesticated from teosinte, the number and arrangement of ears changed dramatically. Teosinte has long lateral branches that bear multiple small ears at their nodes and tassels at their tips. Maize has much shorter lateral branches that are tipped by a single large ear with ...

HIGHLIGHTS A new methodological proposal for estimating variance components is presented. Proportion of genetic was assessed in corn populations ear rot. Breeding strategies could be proposed from estimations heritabilities. Nested ANOVA estimates phenotypic RIL populations.

In attempting to trace the origin of maize (Zea mays L.) the center of interest is the evolution of the peculiar form of inflorescence, especially the pistillate inflorescence, or ear. Since Euchlaena (Etwhlaena mexicana Schrad.) or teosinte, the nearest known relative of maize, has a very different type of pistillate inflorescence, it may be instructive to compare the two genera and trace the ...

Intercropping is an ancient agricultural practice that provides a possible pathway for sustainable increases in crop yields. Here, we determine how competition with wheat affects nutrient uptake (nitrogen and phosphorus) and leaf traits, such as photosynthetic rate, in maize. In a field experiment, maize was planted as a sole crop, in three different intercrop configurations with wheat (a repla...

The domestication of maize (Zea mays sp. mays) from its wild progenitors represents an opportunity to investigate the timing and genetic basis of morphological divergence resulting from artificial selection on target genes. We compared sequence diversity of 30 candidate selected and 15 reference loci between the three populations of wild teosintes, maize landraces, and maize inbred lines. We in...

Gene expression differences between divergent lineages caused by modification of cis regulatory elements are thought to be important in evolution. We assayed genome-wide cis and trans regulatory differences between maize and its wild progenitor, teosinte, using deep RNA sequencing in F1 hybrid and parent inbred lines for three tissue types (ear, leaf and stem). Pervasive regulatory variation wa...

Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, contributes to superior agronomic performance of hybrids compared to their inbred parents. Despite its importance, little is known about the genetic and molecular basis of heterosis. Early maize ear inflorescences formation affects grain yield, and are thus an excellent model for molecular mechanisms involved in heterosis. To determine the parental contributions and ...

Resistance Gene Analog (RGA) strategy is being exploited perfectly for the identification, tagging and mapping of major genes or Quantitative Trait Loci for disease resistance. About 29 RGA primers designed from the conserved domains of resistance proteins, were used to analyse the genetic diversity among the 40 sugarcane cultivars that vary in their resistance to red rot disease. The genetic s...