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...

Samples of haploid and hybrid seed from three different maize donor genotypes after maternal haploid induction were used to test the capability of automated near-infrared transmission spectroscopy to individually differentiate haploid from hybrid seeds. Using a two-step chemometric analysis in which the seeds were first classified according to genotype and then the haploid or hybrid status was...

This opinion reports on an evaluation of a risk assessment for placing on the market the genetically modified herbicide tolerant and insect resistant maize MON89034 x NK603 for food and feed uses, import and processing. Conventional breeding methods were used in the production of maize MON89034 x NK603 from inbred lines of the respective parental events. The structural integrity of the inserts ...

In Maize (Zea maize L.), cost of hybrid seed production is directly related to the yield and quality of seed obtained per hectare of female parent. It is also important to consider the effects that a male parent can exert on the development of hybrid seed in the female parent. This effect is known as xenia. The objectives of this study were to evaluate xenia effects on 1) yield as 80K units, 2)...

Maize (Zea mays L.) serves as model plant for heterosis research and is the crop where hybrid breeding was pioneered. We analyzed genomic and phenotypic data of 1254 hybrids of a typical maize hybrid breeding program based on the important Dent × Flint heterotic pattern. Our main objectives were to investigate genome properties of the parental lines (e.g., allele frequencies, linkage disequilib...

Maize (Zea mays L) is the most important food grain in sub-Saharan Africa and is mostly grown by small-scale farmers under rainfed conditions. Aluminum toxicity caused by low pH is one of the abiotic factors limiting maize production among smallholder farmers. Therefore, breeding maize hybrids that are tolerant to aluminum toxicity will sustain and increase maize production in these areas. Henc...

In this study, we analyzed heterosis, amylase enzyme gene expression, and the physiological quality of maize seeds with different genotypes and sizes, which were subjected to aging and not subjected to aging. We used seeds from 2 maize lines that differed with regard to physiological quality, the hybrid, and the reciprocal hybrid; they were classified into 2 sizes and were subjected to aging an...

We examined the usefulness of the best linear unbiased prediction associated with molecular markers for prediction of untested maize double-cross hybrids. Ten single-cross hybrids from different commercial backgrounds were crossed using a complete diallel design. These 10 single-cross hybrids were genotyped with 20 microsatellite markers. The best linear unbiased prediction associated with micr...

Oat-maize radiation hybrids are oat (Avena sativa L.) plants carrying radiation-induced subchromosome fragments of a given maize (Zea mays L.) chromosome. Since first-generation radiation hybrids contain various maize chromosome rearrangements in a hemizygous condition, variation might be expected in the transmission of these rearrangements to subsequent generations. The transmission and integr...

The subcellular distribution of glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity extracted from shoots of 3-day-old etiolated seedlings of maize (Zea mays L., Northrup-King 9283 hybrid) and the induction of soluble and membrane-bound GST activity by the safener benoxacor, the herbicide metolachlor and their combination (CGA-180937) were investigated. GST activity extracted from maize shoots was detecte...