Single-gene resolution of locally adaptive genetic variation in Mexican maize

摘要: Abstract Threats to crop production due climate change are one of the greatest challenges facing plant breeders today. While considerable adaptive variation exists in traditional landraces, natural populations wild relatives, and ex situ germplasm collections, separating alleles from linked deleterious variants that impact agronomic traits is challenging has limited utility these diverse resources. Modern genome editing techniques such as CRISPR offer a potential solution by targeting specific for transfer new backgrounds, but methods require higher degree precision than mapping approaches can achieve. Here we present high-resolution genome-wide association analysis identify loci exhibiting patterns large panel more 4500 maize landraces representing breadth genetic diversity Mexico. We evaluate associations between genotype performance 13 common gardens across range environments, identifying hundreds candidate genes underlying environment interaction. further with Mexico show associated yield flowering time our field trials predict independent drought trials. Our results indicate necessary adapt crops changing have been subject ongoing environmental adaptation be identified both phenotypic association.