Seeds of Discovery: Next Generation Applications to Explore Maize Genetic Diversity

Mexico is the birthplace and the cradle of domestication of maize. The collaborative Seeds of Discovery initiative (SeeD) aims to enable the study and utilization of maize landrace and wild relative accessions present in the CIMMYT international maize germplasm bank and partnering national germplasm collections within Mexico. One objective within the initiative is to create a global molecular atlas of maize, via genotyping by sequencing (GBS) technologies, containing profiles of over 40,000 maize landraces, advanced lines and wild relatives. Adaptation of GBS approaches has enabled us to cost effectively genotype genetically heterogeneous and diverse landraces and report population level distance and diversity parameters. This move from individual SNP based genotypes to more comprehensive accession SNP fingerprints enables enquiry and use by those interested in germplasm development and by germplasm conservationists and evolutionary biologists alike. Here we present a summary of the modified GBS approach that we are using for the maize molecular atlas and the application to maize diversity research.