Objectives

1. Cloning and functional characterization of the small-sized seed and plant 1 (ssp1) mutant in maize

2. Cloning QTLs for the high protein trait in teosinte

Backgrounds

1. Maize (Zea mays) is a highly productive crop that is widely used as food, feed and industrial materials. Seed size and plant height are both critical agronomic traits determining the yield in the process of domestication and are under control of multiple complex factors. In Arabidopsis and rice, several signal pathways regulating the seed size have been extensively elucidated, while the related research in maize still lacks. Using EMS mutagenesis, we screened a small seed mutant, which also shows a semi-dwarf phenotype in the plant, and therefore was designated as small-sized seed and plant 1 (ssp1).

2. Protein content, an important trait that contributes greatly to maize nutrition, is regulated by quantitative trait loci and is associated with crop domestication syndrome.We found that teosinte has more than twice the protein content of landraces and inbred lines, however, the protein content determined QTL and underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive.

Publication

Li CS, Huang YC, Huang RD, Wu YR, Wang WQ*.The genetic architecture of amylose biosynthesis in maize kernel. Plant Biotechnol J. 2017 Aug 10. doi: 10.1111/pbi.12821.