Maize Breeding: From Domestication to Genomic Tools

Abstract

Maize will continue to expand and diversify as an industrial resource and a feed and fuel crop in the near future. The United Nations estimate that in 2050 the global population will reach 9.7 billion people. In this context, food security is increasingly being discussed. Additionally, another threat to food security is global warming. It is predicted that both the quantity and the quality of crops will be seriously affected by climate change in the near future. Scientists and breeders need to speed up the process of creating new maize cultivars that are resistant to climate stress without diminishing yield or quality. The present paper provides a brief overview of some of the most important genomics tools that can be used to develop high-performance and well-adapted hybrids of maize and also emphasizes the contribution of bioinformatics to an advanced maize breeding. Genomics tools are essential for a precise, fast, and efficient breeding of crops especially in the context of climate challenges. Maize breeders are able now to develop new cultivars with better traits more easily as a result of the new genomic approaches, either by aiding the selection process or by increasing the available diversity through precision breeding procedures. Furthermore, the use of genomic tools may in the future represent a way to accelerate the processes of de novo domestication of the species.

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“…L. Muntean et al (2022) report that to date, breeders have created new maize hybrids with FAO scores ranging from 200 to 500, which are capable of yielding more than 12.0-14.0 t/ha. At the same time, the grain moisture content of the new corn hydrides averages 12-14%, providing opportunities for energy-saving harvesting with minimal drying costs.…”

Genomics-assisted speed breeding for crop improvement: present and future

“…Maize (Zea mays L.) represents the major source of food in the world owing to its large growing areas and productivity, and it is also the basic fodder and important raw material for industrial processing (Muntean et al, 2022). On a global level, maize ranks first in terms of production quantities, followed by rice, wheat, barley and sorghum (FAO, 2022).…”

Enhancing Maize (Zea maysL.) Crop through Advanced Techniques: A Comprehensive Approach

“…Hence, the chosen cultivars may not consistently be without errors, given that phenotypes are significantly affected by genotype-environment interactions [32]. The selection process involves choosing individuals for breeding based on their differences in desired features, which are usually measurable or observable traits [33]. It's worth noting that conventional breeding is an applied science that heavily depends on the observations, skills, and experiences of breeders for judgment, as highlighted by Allard [34].…”

“…Molecular markers have an important role in enhancing maize's genetic traits, such as addressing the intricate inheritance patterns related to drought tolerance [44][45][46], improving nutrient utilization [46][47][48][49][50][51][52], and enhancing diseases, parasitic and insect pests plant resistance in maize [17,[53][54][55][56]. Additional details can be found in the works of Hossain et al [57] and Muntean et al [33].…”