Molecular Parallelism Underlies Convergent Highland Adaptation of Maize Landraces

Independent Molecular Basis of Convergent Highland Adaptation in Maize.

Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar traits in different species or lineages of the same species; this often is a result of adaptation to similar environments, a process referred to as convergent adaptation. We investigate here the molecular basis of convergent adaptation in maize to highland climates in Mesoamerica and South America, using genome-wide SNP data. Taking a...

Asymmetrical local adaptation of maize landraces along an altitudinal gradient

Crop landraces are managed populations that evolve in response to gene flow and selection. Cross-pollination among fields, seed sharing by farmers, and selection by management and environmental conditions play roles in shaping crop characteristics. We used common gardens to explore the local adaptation of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) landrace populations from Chiapas, Mexico to altitude. We sowed...

Genetic diversity in the germplasm of tropical maize landraces determined using molecular markers.

Maize landraces derived from tropical germplasm represent an important source of genetic variability, which is currently poorly understood and under-exploited by Brazilian crop breeding programs. The aims of our study were to a) estimate the genetic diversity across 48 varieties of maize landraces cultivated at different locations in the States of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and Paraná (PR) by ...

Identical Skin Toxins by Convergent Molecular Adaptation in Frogs

The Tree of Life is rife with adaptive convergences at all scales and biological levels of complexity. However, natural selection is not likely to result in the independent evolution of identical gene products. Here we report such a striking example of evolutionary convergence in the toxic skin secretions of two distantly related frog lineages. Caeruleins are important decapeptides in pharmacol...

Genetic Diversity of Maize Landraces as Sources of Favorable Traits