Genetics and Molecular Breeding of Maize
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Genetics, Genomics and Breeding".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 January 2027 | Viewed by 14
Editors
Interests: maize; molecular breeding; genomics; stress tolerance; nutritional quality
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Maize is a cornerstone of global food security, underpinning diets and livelihoods across diverse agro-ecologies. Rapid population growth, climate volatility, and the need for sustainable production intensify the demand for high-yield, resilient maize varieties. Advances in genetics and molecular breeding—such as genome editing, high-throughput phenomics, and integrative genomics—offer powerful means to dissect complex traits and translate discoveries into better germplasm faster. The field sits at a pivotal intersection of basic biology and practical breeding, enabling precise trait dissection, accelerated variety development, and responsive deployment in farmers’ fields.
This Special Issue highlights how cutting-edge molecular tools can drive gains in yield, stress tolerance, nutritional quality, and resource-use efficiency; it aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to genetics and molecular breeding of maize. We consider contributions addressing the discovery, validation, and deployment of genetic and genomic resources, innovative breeding strategies, and integrated omics approaches that accelerate maize improvement in diverse environments.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:
- Genome editing and precision breeding in maize
- GWAS, linkage mapping, and multi-omics integration for trait discovery
- Marker-assisted and genomic selection in maize breeding programs
- Genotype-by-environment interactions and phenomics-enabled selection
- Gene regulation, transcriptional networks, and functional genomics
- Stress tolerance (drought, heat, cold, disease) and nutrient-use efficiency
- Prebreeding, germplasm enhancement, and sustainable breeding strategies
Prof. Dr. Zhiming Zhang
Dr. Haiping Ding
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- maize
- molecular breeding
- genomics
- stress tolerance
- genome editing
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