Conservation of Regulation Patterns Associated with the 3’UTR of ZTHIC Gene in Selected Zea mays Varieties

Tropical Zea mays commonly known as maize have been shown to contain significant levels of thiamine. Thiamine, also known as vitamin B1 is an essential vitamin required for normal growth and development in the diet of man and animals. The thiamine biosynthetic pathway has been extensively studied in Arabidopsis, Zea mays and Escherichia coli. The implication of the 3’UTR of ZTHIC gene which codes for a thiamine biosynthetic enzyme, pyrimidine synthase in the regulation of thiamine biosynthesis in plants is well documented. DNA was extracted from seeds of selected tropical yellow endosperm and Public US group Zea mays varieties. The entire 3’UTR of ZTHIC was amplified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using the Neighbour - Joining algorithm in MEGA6. We report seven major clusters thus seven regulation patterns associated with this region in selected the Zea mays varieties studied. The pattern of regulation observed was not influenced by the sources of the Zea mays varieties. This suggests that the regulation of thiamine biosynthesis in these varieties is conserved and can be exploited in further genetic biodiversity studies.