Corn husk as a potential source of anthocyanins.

Anthocyanin pigments are extracted from various plants and used for diverse purposes. The overall goal of this study was to develop high-anthocyanin corn to enhance the economic efficiency of anthocyanin production. We determined and compared the anthocyanin contents from the different parts of purple corn in various breeding lines.

Genetic diversity of maize kernel starch-synthesis genes with SNAPs.

Measuring genetic diversity in populations of a crop species is very important for understanding the genetic structure of and subsequently improving the crop species by genetic manipulation. Single-nucleotide amplified polymorphisms (SNAPs) among and within maize populations of waxy, dent, and sweet corns at 25 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites in 6 kernel starch-synthesis genes (sh2, bt2, su1, ae1, wx1, and sh1) were determined. Because of the intensive selection of some favorable alleles in starch-synthesis genes during the breeding process, and the resultant strong linkage disequilibrium (LD), the number of haplotypes in each population was far less than expected.

Genetic mapping of the Isaac-CACTA transposon in maize.

We constructed a genetic linkage map with Isaac-TD, SSR, and SNAP markers in a RIL population which had been derived from a cross of waxy corn (KW7) and dent corn (Mo17). A total of 368 markers, including 241 Isaac-TD, 121 SSR, and 6 SNAP markers, were assigned to 10 linkage groups, encompassing 1687.0 cM, with an average genetic distance of 4.