This study sought to assess genetic and environmental impacts on the metabolite composition of maize grain. Gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) measured 119 identified metabolites including free amino acids, free fatty acids, sugars, organic acids, and other small molecules in a range of hybrids derived from 48 inbred lines crossed against two different tester lines (from the C103 and Iodent heterotic groups) and grown at three locations in Iowa. It was reasoned that expanded metabolite coverage would contribute to a comprehensive evaluation of the grain metabolome, its degree of variability, and, in principle, its relationship to other compositional and agronomic features. The metabolic profiling results established that the small molecule metabolite pool is highly dependent on genotypic variation and that levels of certain metabolite classes may have an inverse genotypic relationship to each other. Different metabolic phenotypes were clearly associated with the two distinct tester populations. Overall, grain from the C103 lines contained higher levels of free fatty acids and organic acids, whereas grain from the Iodent lines were associated with higher levels of amino acids and carbohydrates. In addition, the fold-range of genotype mean values [composed of six samples each (two tester crosses per inbred x three field sites)] for identified metabolites ranged from approximately 1.5- to 93-fold. Interestingly, some grain metabolites showed a non-normal distribution over the entire corn population, which could, at least in part, be attributed to large differences in metabolite values within specific inbred crosses relative to other inbred sets. This study suggests a potential role for metabolic profiling in assisting the process of selecting elite germplasm in biotechnology development, or marker-assisted breeding.

This study compared maize, sorghum and pearl-millet, leading C 4 cereals, for the transpiration rate (TR) response to increasing atmospheric and soil water stress. The TR response to transiently increasing VPD (0.9-4.1 kPa) and the transpiration and leaf area expansion response to progressive soil drying were measured in controlled conditions at early vegetative stage in 10-16 genotypes of each species grown in moderate or high vapor pressure deficit (VPD) conditions. Maize grown under moderate VPD conditions restricted TR under high VPD, but not sorghum and pearl millet. By contrast, when grown under high VPD, all species increased TR upon increasing VPD, suggesting a loss of TR responsiveness. Sorghum and pearl-millet grown under high VPD reduced leaf area, but not maize. Upon progressive soil drying, maize reduced transpiration at higher soil moisture than sorghum and pearl millet, especially under high VPD, and leaf area expansion declined at similar or lower soil moisture than transpiration in maize and sorghum. It is concluded that maize conserves water by restricting transpiration upon increasing VPD and under higher soil moisture than sorghum and millet, giving maize significantly higher TE, whereas sorghum and pearl millet rely mostly on reduced leaf area and somewhat on transpiration restriction.

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Among various foliar diseases affecting maize yields worldwide, northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) is economically important. The genetics of resistance was worked out to be quantitative in nature thereby suggesting the need for the detection of quantitative trait loci (QTL) to initiate effective marker-aided breeding strategies. From the cross CML153 (susceptible) × SKV50 (resistant), 344 F2:3 progenies were derived and screened for their reaction to NCLB during the rainy season of 2013 and 2014. The identification of QTL affecting resistance to NCLB was carried out using the genetic linkage map constructed with 194 polymorphic SNPs and the disease data recorded on F2:3 progeny families. Three QTL for NCLB resistance were detected on chromosomes 2, 5, and 8 with the QTL qNCLB-8-2 explaining the highest phenotypic variation of 16.34% followed by qNCLB-5 with 10.24%. QTL for resistance to sorghum downy mildew (SDM) and southern corn rust (SCR) were also identified from one season phenotypic data, and the co-location of QTL for resistance to three foliar diseases was investigated. QTL present in chromosome bins 8.03, 5.03, 5.04, and 3.04 for resistance to NCLB, SDM, and SCR were co-localized, indicating their usefulness for the pyramiding of quantitative resistance to multiple foliar pathogens. Marker-assisted selection was practiced in the crosses CM212 × SKV50, HKI162 × SKV50, and CML153 × SKV50 employing markers linked to major QTL on chromosomes 8, 2, and 10 for NCLB, SDM, and SCR resistance, respectively. The populations were advanced to F6 stage to derive multiple disease-resistant inbred lines. Out of the 125 lines developed, 77 lines were tested for their combining ability and 39 inbred lines exhibited high general combining ability with an acceptable level of resistance to major diseases.

In this report we have evaluated metabolite and RNA profiling technologies to begin to understand the natural variation in these biomolecules found in commercial-quality, conventional (non-GM) maize hybrids. Our analyses focus on mature grain, the article of commerce that is most typically subjected to the rigorous studies involved in the comparative safety assessment of GM products. We have used a population of conventionally-bred maize hybrids that derive from closely related inbred parents grown under standard field conditions across geographically similar locations. This study highlights the large amount of natural variation in metabolites and transcripts across conventional maize germplasm grown under normal field conditions, and underscores the critical need for further extensive studies before these technologies can be seriously considered for utility in the comparative safety assessment of GM crops.

Background: Northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) of maize caused by Exserohilum turcicum is a serious foliar disease. Resistance to NCLB is complexly inherited and the highly significant genotype x environment interaction effect makes selection of resistant genotypes difficult through conventional breeding methods. Hence an attempt was made to identify the genomic regions associated with NCLB resistance and perform genomic selection (GS) in two F2:3 populations derived from the crosses CM212 × MAI172 (Population-1) and CM202 × SKV50 (Population-2). Results: Two populations, each comprising of 366 progenies, were phenotyped at three different locations in the disease screening nurseries. Linkage analysis using 297 polymorphic SNPs in Population-1 and 290 polymorphic SNPs in Population-2 revealed 10 linkage groups spanning 3623.88cM and 4261.92cM with an average distance of 12.40 cM and 14.9 cM, respectively. Location-wise and pooled data across locations indicated that QTL expression was population and environment specific. The genomic prediction accuracies of 0.83 and 0.79 were achieved for NCLB Population 1 and Population 2, respectively. The resistant progenies from both populations were advanced to derive inbred lines and crossed with four different testers in line x tester mating design to test for their combining ability. High overall general combining ability was exhibited by 21 inbred lines. Among crosses 48 % were assigned high overall specific combining ability status. Out of 136 single crosses, seven recorded significant positive standard heterosis over the best check for grain yield. The clustering pattern of inbred lines developed from the two populations revealed high molecular diversity. Conclusions: In this study, comparatively better genomic prediction accuracies were achieved for NCLB and the worth of F3 progenies with high genomic predictions was proved by advancing them to derive inbred lines and establishing their higher combining ability for yield and yield related traits.