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<\/p>\nExperts in the heart of Husker Nation are once again helping the world unravel the genetic secrets of corn \u2014 a crop that plays a pivotal role in global agriculture.<\/p>\n
In the latest published work from the lab of Nebraska\u2019s James Schnable, Vladimir Torres-Rodriguez and Guangchao Sun helped an international team identify a hidden layer of genetic control within the DNA of corn. The findings reveal how small variations in DNA can influence important traits such as drought resistance, plant height and flower time, ultimately leading to more resilient crops. The study is to be published in\u00a0Nature Genetics.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe breakthrough we\u2019re working toward is being able to look at maize (corn) DNA and say, \u2018These are the parts that determine how genes are expressed \u2014 and this is how they shape the plant in the field,\u2019\u201d said Schnable, the Nebraska Corn Checkoff Presidential Chair and professor of agronomy and horticulture. \u201cWe\u2019re not quite there yet \u2014 we can\u2019t take a gene and just dial it up or down on command. But we\u2019re getting closer.\u201d<\/p>\n
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James Schnable is the Nebraska Corn Checkoff presidential chair and professor of agronomy and horticulture at the University of Nebraska\u2013Lincoln. He leads a research group focused on the quantitative genetics and breeding of corn, sorghum and other related crops.<\/p>\n
Nebraska database unlocks puzzle<\/p>\n
The study, led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, Germany, and Heinrich-Heine University in D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany, identified a series of genetic switches that determine plant traits. The switches \u2014 regions of DNA called transcription factor binding sites \u2014 act like molecular \u201cdimmer knobs,\u201d turning individual genes in plant genomes up or down in response to environmental and genetic cues.<\/p>\n
Overall, the study identified more than 200,000 variations \u2014 known as binding-QTLs \u2014 that influence how corn genes are expressed.<\/p>\n
To verify the findings, the research team turned to Schnable\u2019s group and the world\u2019s largest public datasets of gene expression in corn, which is available through UNL and built on generations of Husker-led research.<\/p>\n
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Sun<\/p>\n
Torres-Rodriguez, a research assistant professor in agronomy and horticulture, primarily used a dataset developed by Schnable and Sun, now a professor of corn genetics at Sichuan Agricultural University, in an earlier study that connected genetic differences in maize to the way genes are turned on and off \u2014 a type of analysis known as expression QTL, or eQTL, mapping.<\/p>\n
By applying that dataset to the new study\u2019s discoveries, Torres-Rodriguez confirmed that many of the genetic variants identified by the German-led team were located near genes and within known regulatory regions \u2014 the DNA elements that serve as on-off switches for gene expression. In fact, Torres-Rodriguez found that roughly 27% of these variants were located in such regulatory zones, far more than would be expected by chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember running to (Schnable\u2019s) office after seeing the enrichment,\u201d Torres-Rodriguez said. \u201cWe had found the signal. He was so happy \u2014 it was a breakthrough moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
To dig deeper, the team analyzed the genetic variants based on how far they were from the genes they influence, revealing a sharp decline in regulatory power with distance. The closer a variant was to a gene, the more likely it was to affect expression \u2014 and ultimately, traits like drought tolerance or yield.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not in this study by chance \u2014 we\u2019re in it because we are experts here at Nebraska,\u201d Torres-Rodriguez said. \u201cWe have one of the strongest infrastructures for maize gene expression in the world, right here in Nebraska.\u201d<\/p>\n
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