Genetic Properties of the Maize Nested Association Mapping Population

Abstract

Codifying Maize Modifications Maize, one of our most important crop species, has been the target of genetic investigation and experimentation for more than 100 years. Crossing two inbred lines tends to result in “better” offspring, in a process known as heterosis. Attempts to map the genetic loci that control traits important for farming have been made, but few have been successful (see the Perspective by Mackay ). Buckler et al. (p. 714 ) and McMullen et al. (p. 737 ) produced a genomic map of maize that relates recombination to genome structure. Even tremendous adaptations in very diverse species were produced by numerous, small additive steps. Differences in flowering time in maize among inbred lines were not caused by a few genes with large effects, but by the cumulative effects of numerous quantitative trait loci—each of which has only a small impact on the trait.

Keywords

Affiliated Institutions

• University of Missouri US
• University of Wisconsin–Madison US
• Illumina (United States) US
• Pioneer Hi-Bred US
• Cornell University US
• Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences CN
• Northwest Missouri State University US
• Beijing Normal University CN
• North Carolina State University US
• Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory US
• Institute of Crop Sciences CN
• United States Department of Agriculture US

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