Lu Chen： Genetic diversity and adaptive variation in the genus Zea

2nd ZJU Organismal Evolution & Innovation Workshop for Young Scholars

Presenter: Dr. Lu Chen

Dr. Lu Chen is a New ZJU100 Young Professor and doctoral supervisor. She works in the Crop Science Research Institute, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University. Her research focuses on crop evolutionary biology.  She has published several research papers in Science, Nature Genetics and other journals as the first author (including co-author). 

Report topic:  Genetic diversity and adaptive variation in the genus Zea

Corn not only stands as one of the most extensively cultivated crops globally but also serves as a model species for fundamental research. Originating from the southwestern region of Mexico, its wild relatives are collectively referred to as teosintes. Although these wild teosintes are primarily distributed in Mexico and Central America, they exhibit various subspecies adaptations to diverse environments. By dissecting the genetic mechanisms underlying the adaptive evolution of the Zea genus, this study provides novel prospects for utilizing wild resources to breed crops capable of withstanding extreme future climate changes. The research, employing a total of 237 materials from seven wild subspecies of the Zea genus and 507 modern maize inbred lines, established a genetic variation map for the Zea genus. It delineated the population evolutionary history of the Zea genus and revealed the genetic mechanisms driving its adaptive evolution.