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Agriculture
Special Issues
Breeding and Genetics of Maize
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Breeding and Genetics 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: closed (15 October 2024) | Viewed by 3195

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yurong Xie

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: maize; plant architecture; high-temperature stress; high photosynthetic efficiency; molecular mechanism; genetic basis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xiupeng Mei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Interests: plant architecture development; abiotic stress response; nutrient use efficiency

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Maize (Zea mays. L) is one of the most important cereal crops in the world. Its cultivation history can be traced back to Mexico at least 4000 years ago, and it is widely cultivated worldwide. The germplasm resources of maize are rich, including maize varieties of different forms, colors, or nutrients. In order to meet the increasing food demands of people, maize breeding and genetic research are indispensable links in agricultural production, which covers mining genetic resources, the functional analysis of key genes, genetic breeding methods, and technical system improvements, including the traditional methods, such as selection, hybridization, germplasm improvement, and other means to improve the traits of maize varieties, and the modern methods to make more direct modifications to maize genes through gene editing and transformation technologies to ameliorate maize varieties quickly and precisely without large-scale changes to the genetic genome. With the development of molecular genetics and other related disciplines, the methods and techniques of maize breeding research are constantly innovative, which aim to explore more efficient and sustainable methods of maize breeding and genetic improvement and strive to develop more new varieties that are efficient, highly nutritious, and adaptable to different climatic conditions. This Special Issue focuses on recent advances in the breeding and genetics of maize, inviting all types of articles, such as research papers and methods, reviews, and opinions.

Prof. Dr. Yurong Xie
Dr. Xiupeng Mei
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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
  • breeding
  • genetics
  • yield
  • improvement
  • novel breeding techniques
  • genome editing

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2021 KiB  
Article
Study of Pollen Traits, Production, and Artificial Pollination Methods in Zea mays L.
by Michela Landoni, Stefano Sangiorgio, Martina Ghidoli, Elena Cassani and Roberto Pilu
Agriculture 2024, 14(10), 1791; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14101791 - 12 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1815
Abstract
The optimization of artificial pollination is crucial in breeding programs for allogamous plants. In maize, achieving a balance between the labor-intensive nature of controlled pollinations and the need for large-scale production of hybrid seeds, along with considerations of germinability and pollen production, determines [...] Read more.
The optimization of artificial pollination is crucial in breeding programs for allogamous plants. In maize, achieving a balance between the labor-intensive nature of controlled pollinations and the need for large-scale production of hybrid seeds, along with considerations of germinability and pollen production, determines the success of genetic improvement programs. Breeding programs in maize have resulted in a reduction in the number of tassel branches to increase light interception and plant density in production fields. However, despite this genetic improvement, the decreased pollen production per plant has raised critical concerns regarding pollination and subsequent ear filling, especially under adverse environmental conditions. The aim of this work was the analysis of factors that can contribute to increasing the efficiency of controlled pollination in maize. The data obtained showed that pollen diameter, flavonoid, and phenolic acid content do not influence the percentage of germination and therefore the efficiency of pollination. The quantity of pollen is a central factor in ensuring the efficiency of controlled pollinations, and the data obtained by comparing traditional varieties with modern hybrids of maize showed that an increase in pollen production is determined by the increase in branching of the male inflorescence. Furthermore, we propose the use of a “smart” pollination method to make this step in maize breeding programs easier and faster. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breeding and Genetics of Maize)
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12 pages, 5807 KiB  
Article
Maize Class C Heat Shock Factor ZmHSF21 Improves the High Temperature Tolerance of Transgenic Arabidopsis
by Yurong Xie and Yuhan Ye
Agriculture 2024, 14(9), 1524; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14091524 - 4 Sep 2024
Viewed by 918
Abstract
High temperatures seriously threaten the global yield of maize. The objectives of the present study were to explore the key candidate gene involved in heat shock responses in maize and its potential biological function to heat stress. Here, we identified a Class C [...] Read more.
High temperatures seriously threaten the global yield of maize. The objectives of the present study were to explore the key candidate gene involved in heat shock responses in maize and its potential biological function to heat stress. Here, we identified a Class C heat shock factor, ZmHSF21, from maize leaves and used molecular biological and plant physiological assays to investigate its roles in transgenic Arabidopsis. ZmHSF21 encodes a putative protein of 388 amino acids. We showed that ZmHSF21 was expressed in most tissues of maize with relatively high expression in leaves and silks but rather low in roots and stalks, and its expression level in leaves was significantly up-regulated by heat treatment. We also showed that overexpression of ZmHSF21 in Arabidopsis significantly improved the seed germination frequency and plant survival rate when exposed to heat stress. We demonstrated that, compared with wild-type plants, the activities of peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase increased while the reactive oxygen species accumulation decreased in ZmHSF21 overexpressors under heat stress conditions. We further demonstrated that ZmHSF21 promoted the transcriptional level of AtAPX2, AtGolS1, and several AtHSPs. Collectively, the first-class C HSF in maize (ZmHSF21) is cloned in this study, and the combined results suggest that ZmHSF21 is a positive regulator of heat shock response and can be applied to develop maize high-temperature-tolerant varieties for more yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breeding and Genetics of Maize)
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