Cytoplasmic Genome Contributions to Domestication and Improvement of Modern Maize

Authors

Shuai Cao
Huanhuan Zhang
Yang Liu
Yi Sun
Z Jeffrey Chen

Language

English

Publication Date

3-13-2024

Journal

BMC Biology

DOI

10.1186/s12915-024-01859-4

PMID

38481288

PMCID

PMC10938767

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

5-13-2024

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

Background: Studies on maize evolution and domestication are largely limited to the nuclear genomes, and the contribution of cytoplasmic genomes to selection and domestication of modern maize remains elusive. Maize cytoplasmic genomes have been classified into fertile (NA and NB) and cytoplasmic-nuclear male-sterility (CMS-S, CMS-C, and CMS-T) groups, but their contributions to modern maize breeding have not been systematically investigated.

Results: Here we report co-selection and convergent evolution between nuclear and cytoplasmic genomes by analyzing whole genome sequencing data of 630 maize accessions modern maize and its relatives, including 24 fully assembled mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes. We show that the NB cytotype is associated with the expansion of modern maize to North America, gradually replaces the fertile NA cytotype probably through unequal division, and predominates in over 90% of modern elite inbred lines. The mode of cytoplasmic evolution is increased nucleotypic diversity among the genes involved in photosynthesis and energy metabolism, which are driven by selection and domestication. Furthermore, genome-wide association study reveals correlation of cytoplasmic nucleotypic variation with key agronomic and reproductive traits accompanied with the diversification of the nuclear genomes.

Conclusions: Our results indicate convergent evolution between cytoplasmic and nuclear genomes during maize domestication and breeding. These new insights into the important roles of mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes in maize domestication and improvement should help select elite inbred lines to improve yield stability and crop resilience of maize hybrids.

Keywords

Domestication, Zea mays, Genome-Wide Association Study, Plant Breeding, Cytoplasm, Maize, Hybrid, Domestication, Improvement, Cytoplasmic genomes, Convergent evolution

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Cao, Shuai; Zhang, Huanhuan; Liu, Yang; et al., "Cytoplasmic Genome Contributions to Domestication and Improvement of Modern Maize" (2024). Faculty, Staff and Student Publications. 6191.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/uthgsbs_docs/6191