Unique gene combinations control tropical maize response to day lengths
Tropical maize proves to be a valuable genetic resource, containing genetics not found in USA Corn Belt maize. Most tropical maize varieties respond to the long summer day lengths that occur in U.S. growing regions by flowering late. This delayed flowering response results in poor yields, effectively trapping the useful genes and hindering their incorporation into maize hybrids adapted to the most productive corn growing regions.
Scientists from the United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service and North Carolina State University identified four regions of the maize genome that control much of the photoperiod response in maize. A diverse sample of maize lines bred in Mexico and Thailand were crossed into a standard Corn Belt maize line. Results of this study were reported in the May – June issue of Crop Science, the scientific journal published by the Crop Science Society of America.
For each key day length response region, the researchers compared the effects of moving the genes from a tropical variety into a Corn Belt variety. Even at a single genome region, the effects of tropical genes differed, depending on which tropical variety they were bred from. In the most extreme case, the scientists discovered that genes from tropical varieties did not have uniform effects on delayed flowering at the genome region. One of the tropical varieties carried genes that made plants flower earlier than the standard Corn Belt variety.
James Holland, who conducted the study, stated: "We were pleased to validate the effects of these four day length response gene regions that we had identified in previous independent studies. However, we were surprised to discover that some tropical lines carry early flowering genes at our most important day length genome region. Our results highlight the amazing genetic variation that exists in both tropical and temperate maize."
This research supports findings of other scientists about the genomic position of key day length response genes and reveals unexpected diversity in their effects on flowering. Ongoing research is focused on identifying the specific genes controlling day length response that exist in these regions.
More information: The full article is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary. View the abstract at https://www.crops. … es/51/3/1036
Provided by American Society of Agronomy
-
From lemons to lemonade: Reaction uses carbon dioxide to make carbon-based semiconductor,
32 comments
-
Thioridazine kills cancer stem cells in human while avoiding toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments,
3 comments
-
SpaceX private rocket blasts off for space station (Update),
42 comments
-
Climate scientists say they have solved riddle of rising sea,
31 comments
-
SpaceX capsule has 'new car' smell, astronauts say (Update),
2 comments
-
What would stain as translucent on light-coloured fabric?
14 hours ago
-
How do I identify different bacteria on culture plates?
May 26, 2012
-
Why Do Dogs do Strange things...
May 25, 2012
-
What does exophillic and endophillic mean in terms of mosquito and their control?
May 24, 2012
-
Semen stains glows under black lights (uv light)?
May 23, 2012
-
Question on Human Chromosome 2
May 23, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Biology
More news stories
Scientist: Evolution debate will soon be history
(AP) -- Richard Leakey predicts skepticism over evolution will soon be history. Not that the avowed atheist has any doubts himself.
14 hours ago |
3.5 / 5 (14) |
33
More plant species responding to global warming than previously thought
(Phys.org) -- Far more wild plant species may be responding to global warming than previous large-scale estimates have suggested.
May 22, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (14) |
18
|
Thousands of shellfish found dead in Peru
Thousands of crustaceans were found dead off the coast of Lima following the mystery mass death of dolphins and pelicans, the Peruvian Navy said Friday.
May 26, 2012 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
7
For monogamous sparrows, it doesn't pay to stray (but they do it anyway)
It's quite common for a female song sparrow to stray from her breeding partner and mate with the male next door, but a new study shows that sleeping around can be costly.
May 22, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
7
|
Study uncovers secret to speedy burrowing by razor clams
(Phys.org) -- If you look at a razor burrowing clam sitting in a bucket, you’d never guess that it could burrow itself down into the soil, much less do it with any speed. Razor clams look like fat straws, ...
May 25, 2012 |
1 / 5 (1) |
3
|
Nvidia trumpets Tegra 3 phone design wins for 2012
(Phys.org) -- Nvidia’s competitive war paint has a name, Tegra 3. On the heels of Nvidia announcements about lowering costs of its Tegra 3 processors and Nvidia-enabled tablets running Android Ice Cream ...
Browser wars flare in mobile space
The browser wars are heating up again, but this time the fight is for dominance of the mobile Internet.
Dell tablet leak: 10.1-inch display, two-battery choice
(Phys.org) -- Headline after headline talks about vendors’ tablets in the wings as likely number-one contenders for the iPad. Such claims have justifiably been taken with a grain of salt, considering ...
Keep food safety in mind this memorial day weekend
(HealthDay) -- Picnics, parades and cookouts are as much a part of Memorial Day weekend as tributes to the United States' war veterans.
Family history of Alzheimer's affects functional connectivity
(HealthDay) -- Cognitively normal individuals with a family history of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) may display lower resting state functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) of the brain, ...
Social welfare cuts ultimately come with heavy price, researchers say
(Phys.org) -- Slashing government funding for Medicaid, food stamps and other programs that serve the poor – while politically popular with some lawmakers and many conservatives – may do more harm ...
