Molecular background of maize domestication

Alicja Sobkowiak

a.sobkowiak@ihar.edu.pl
Zakład Biochemii i Fizjologii Roślin, IHAR — PIB, Radzików (Poland)

Jarosław Szczepanik


Zakład Ekofizjologii Molekularnej Roślin, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Warszawa (Poland)

Paweł Sowiński


Zakład Ekofizjologii Molekularnej Roślin, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Warszawa (Poland)

Abstract

Artificial selection during maize domestication was based mostly on selection of certain phenotypes. That resulted in creating populations differing in many aspects from teosinte — the wild progenitor of modern maize. Similar changes took place during breeding phase, when exploitation of natural variation of local landraces gave rise to several inbred lines bearing the desired features. The questions of maize origin and the sources of its variability were addressed by several authors. In accordance with the current paradigm, maize was domesticated only once, in southwestern Mexico, in the valley of Balsas river, about 9000 BP. During the last decade several genes associated with domestication were identified (tb1, Barren stalk1, tga1, ramosa2). It was shown that all four genes encode transcription factors. This article shows current understanding of unique features of maize genome. This uniqueness is discussed in the context of domestication and breeding processes of Zea mays.


Keywords:

breeding, maze, genome, artificial selection, domestication, genetic variability

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Published
2013-03-31

Cited by

Sobkowiak, A., Szczepanik, J. and Sowiński, P. (2013) “Molecular background of maize domestication”, Bulletin of Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute, (267), pp. 41–55. doi: 10.37317/biul-2013-0049.

Authors

Alicja Sobkowiak 
a.sobkowiak@ihar.edu.pl
Zakład Biochemii i Fizjologii Roślin, IHAR — PIB, Radzików Poland

Authors

Jarosław Szczepanik 

Zakład Ekofizjologii Molekularnej Roślin, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Warszawa Poland

Authors

Paweł Sowiński 

Zakład Ekofizjologii Molekularnej Roślin, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Warszawa Poland

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