Selection During Maize Domestication Targeted a Gene Network Controlling Plant and Inflorescence Architecture

Selection during evolution, whether natural or artificial, acts through the phenotype. For multifaceted phenotypes such as plant and inflorescence architecture, the underlying genetic architecture is comprised of a complex network of interacting genes rather than single genes that act independently...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genetics (Austin) 2017-10, Vol.207 (2), p.755-765
Main Authors: Studer, Anthony J, Wang, Huai, Doebley, John F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Architecture
Barley
Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors - genetics
Cell cycle
Corn
Domestication
Embryos
Evolution
Evolution, Molecular
Flowers - genetics
Flowers - growth & development
Gene Regulatory Networks
Genes
Genetics
Grain
Hierarchies
Identification methods
Investigations
MADS box proteins
Oryza
Plant Breeding
Plant Proteins - genetics
Regulators
Rice
Selection, Genetic
Selective Breeding
Sorghum
Transcription
Zea luxurians
Zea mays
Zea mays - genetics
Zea mays - growth & development
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Summary:Selection during evolution, whether natural or artificial, acts through the phenotype. For multifaceted phenotypes such as plant and inflorescence architecture, the underlying genetic architecture is comprised of a complex network of interacting genes rather than single genes that act independently to determine the trait. As such, selection acts on entire gene networks. Here, we begin to define the genetic regulatory network to which the maize domestication gene, ( ), belongs. Using a combination of molecular methods to uncover either direct or indirect regulatory interactions, we identified a set of genes that lie downstream of in a gene network regulating both plant and inflorescence architecture. Additional genes, known from the literature, also act in this network. We observed that regulates both core cell cycle genes and another maize domestication gene, ( ). We show that several members of the MADS-box gene family are either directly or indirectly regulated by and/or , and that sits atop a cascade of transcriptional regulators controlling both plant and inflorescence architecture. Multiple members of the network appear to have been the targets of selection during maize domestication. Knowledge of the regulatory hierarchies controlling traits is central to understanding how new morphologies evolve.
ISSN:1943-2631
0016-6731
1943-2631
DOI:10.1534/genetics.117.300071