A regulatory network controlling developmental boundaries and meristem fates contributed to maize domestication.

During domestication, early farmers selected different vegetative and reproductive traits, but identifying the causative loci has been hampered by their epistasis and functional redundancy. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing combined with genome-wide association analysis, we uncovered a developmental regulator that controls both types of trait while acting upstream of multiple domestication loci. tasselsheath4 (tsh4) is a new maize domestication gene that establishes developmental boundaries and specifies meristem fates despite not being expressed within them.

Transcription factor binding site divergence across maize inbred lines drives transcriptional and phenotypic variation.

Regulatory elements are important constituents of plant genomes that have shaped ancient and modern crops. Their identification, function, and diversity in crop genomes however are poorly characterized, thus limiting our ability to harness their power for further agricultural advances using induced or natural variation. Here, we use DNA affinity purification-sequencing (DAP-seq) to map transcription factor (TF) binding events for 200 maize TFs belonging to 30 distinct families and heterodimer pairs in two distinct inbred lines historically used for maize hybrid plant production, providing empirical binding site annotation for 5.

Early life events associated with first lactation reproductive performance in southwest Victorian pasture-based dairy herds.

This was a prospective cohort study to determine how events from birth until first calving affect reproductive performance in the first lactation in pasture-based dairy herds in Victoria, Australia. Events during the preweaning (0 to 84 days), weaning to first breeding (85 to 473 days) and first breeding to first calving periods (474 to 804 days) were recorded and their association with reproductive performance during the first lactation was quantified. Reproductive performance outcomes included the number of days from first mating start date to first service (MSD-S1) and the number of days from first mating start date to first conception (MSD-CON).

Boundary domain genes were recruited to suppress bract growth and promote branching in maize.

Grass inflorescence development is diverse and complex and involves sophisticated but poorly understood interactions of genes regulating branch determinacy and leaf growth. Here, we use a combination of transcript profiling and genetic and phylogenetic analyses to investigate () and , two maize genes that simultaneously suppress inflorescence leaf growth and promote branching. We identify a regulatory network of inflorescence leaf suppression that involves the phase change gene upstream of and the ligule identity gene ().

Recruitment of an ancient branching program to suppress carpel development in maize flowers.

Carpels in maize undergo programmed cell death in half of the flowers initiated in ears and in all flowers in tassels. The HD-ZIP I transcription factor gene () is one of only a few genes known to regulate this process. To identify additional regulators of carpel suppression, we performed a enhancer screen and found a genetic interaction between and ().