Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – The domestication of maize stands as an exceptional example of humanity’s influence on evolutionary processes. Early farmers transformed corn from an almost inedible plant into a staple food source worldwide through pre-industrial plant breeding.
Today, Professors Rob Martienssen and Thomas Gingeras at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory are delving into the genetics behind these ancient agricultural decisions made 9,000 years ago.
To grow the corn of tomorrow, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory geneticists and plant biologists are digging up maize’s ancient roots. Credit: Jon Cahn/Martienssen lab/CSHL
Their goal is to gain deeper insights into evolutionary mechanisms and assist modern farmers in adapting corn for growth under challenging conditions. To achieve this, they have initiated MaizeCODE, a new genomic encyclopedia inspired by the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE), which aimed to identify functional elements within the human genome. Notably, Gingeras was one of ENCODE’s principal investigators.
“The original purpose—and it’s copied in the MaizeCODE effort—is to find all the domains of the genome that encode operational and coding information that the cell uses to reproduce and carry out the functions the cell serves,” Gingeras explains.
A recent study by the Gingeras and Martienssen labs explored regulatory sequences in five tissue types from three maize strains and their ancestor, teosinte. The research identified hundreds of thousands of enhancers crucial for gene activation or deactivation in plants. Furthermore, the study found that maize has a few thousand “super enhancers,” each capable of controlling multiple genes at once. Importantly, these super enhancers experienced strong selection during maize domestication around 9,000 years ago.
“We can now say that maize domestication was really focused—unwittingly perhaps —by selection on this rather narrow set of super enhancers in maize ears,” Martienssen explains in a press release.
These findings not only broaden our understanding of evolution but also have the potential to guide the development of new maize strains. Researchers Martienssen and Gingeras have been awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation to focus on cultivating crops capable of thriving in soils with high aluminum content, a condition frequently encountered in South America.
The scientists will use MaizeCODE “to find all the regulatory regions that are responsible for endowing both maize and sorghum with aluminum resistance,” Martienssen says.
MaizeCODE offers more than just its primary function. This genome database holds the potential to assist farmers in significantly enhancing their maize crops. It could lead to the development of plants that are more resistant to diseases or better able to withstand drought conditions. Additionally, it may contribute to producing higher-yielding crops, which can help feed a larger population. The public availability of MaizeCODE data ensures that plant biologists and breeders worldwide can access and utilize this valuable resource for agricultural advancements.
“We’re only touching the tip of the iceberg,” Martienssen says.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
