Connecting the Genome and Phenome to Develop Stress-Tolerant Maize Cultivars

Crops for current and future production systems need to be resilient to climate variability, tolerant of resource limitations, and must efficiently use available inputs. Roots play a critical role in nutrient acquisition, and optimal root systems for crop productivity must be produced with efficient use of available photosynthate. The collaborative research described in this presentation is founded on the identification of elemental phenes that are assayed using novel phenotyping platforms such as laser-ablation tomography (LAT) and high-throughput Shovelomics. Root architectural and anatomical phenes that increase the proportion of deep roots, and that reduce the cost of root production and maintenance, were validated for their utility in field studies in multiple locations in the United States and Africa. A large maize diversity panel and an extensive gene atlas provided gene-level resolution to consider candidates for further validation. A pipeline of field phenotyping to gene identification will be described, demonstrating that diverse panels of materials evaluated in the field are a useful platform to identify genes, phenes, and contribute to cultivar development to meet the needs of a growing population in the context of climate instability.