Zea nicaraguensis (Poaceae), a New Teosinte from Pacific Coastal Nicaragua

Abstract

The geographically isolated annual te¬ osinte from the coastal plain and embayments/estuaries near the Gulf of Fonseca, Nicaragua, is dif¬ ferentiated from Zea luxurians from southeastern Guatemala by its much longer and more abundant tassel branches, larger number of spikelets per branch, and longer, more pronouncedly transverse¬ ly rugose outer glumes, as well as by its low-ele¬ vation coastal habitat. Molecular (ribosomal ITS) evidence and other data, placing it basal to Z. lux¬ urians, seem to support this taxonomic segregation.

Cryptic homoeology analysis in species and hybrids of genus Zea

“…According to Doebley and Iltis (1980), Iltis and Doebley (1980) and Iltis and Benz (2000) it is composed of two section: Section Luxuriante, which includes the annuals teosintes Zea luxurians and Zea nicaraguensis and the perennials Zea diploperennis and Zea perennis and Section Zea comprises only an annual species (Z. mays L) which can be divided into three subspecies: Z. mays ssp. mays (maize) and the teosintes Z. mays ssp.…”

Identification of QTL Controlling Flooding Tolerance in Reducing Soil Conditions in Maize (Zea mays L.) Seedlings

“…Y. Mano (unpublished data) observed in a greenhouse experiment that a new species found on the Pacifi c coast of Nicaragua, "Zea nicaraguensis" (Bird, 2000;Iltis and Benz, 2000), showed extremely high adaptability to fl ooding under reducing conditions. Using that genetic resource, it might be possible to fi nd additional QTLs with larger effects.…”

High-density linkage map around the root aerenchyma locus Qaer1.06 in the backcross populations of maize Mi29 * teosinte "Zea nicaraguensis"

“…The teosintes represent a wild relative of maize typically found in regions of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua that receive frequent levels of precipitation could be a valuable germplasm resource for developing flooding tolerant maize (Bird 2000, Iltis and Benz 2000. The study of the teosintes also will enhance the understanding of the mechanism of aerenchyma formation because hybridization between non aerenchymaforming maize and aerenchyma-forming teosinte are easily generated.…”

“…Among the several teosintes classified by Doebley and Iltis (1980), Iltis and Doebley (1980) and Iltis and Benz (2000), constitutive aerenchyma that develop in the absence of hypoxia or low oxygen is expressed in Z. luxurians and Z. nicaraguensis in well-aerated greenhouse environments (Ray et al 1999, Mano et al 2006 and in upland field conditions (Y. Mano, unpublished).…”