Light is one of the environmental signals that regulate axillary shoot development. However, little is known about molecular and physiological mechanisms regulating the development of the axillary shoot in response to light signals. Molecular events associated with the enhanced apical dominance of phytochrome B mutant sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) were analyzed to reveal processes mediating axillary shoot development in response to light. The enhanced apical dominance of phyB-1 mutant sorghum is due to inhibition of bud outgrowth and is accompanied by upregulation of the dormancy-associated gene (SbDRM1) in the buds. Increased expression of the Teosinte Branched1 (SbTB1) gene (encoding a putative transcription factor that represses bud outgrowth) suggests that the inhibition of bud outgrowth in phyB-1 sorghum is due to the absence of active phyB to repress SbTB1. The results were confirmed by growing wild type seedlings at high plant density or with supplemental farred (FR) light that induces enhanced apical dominance. However, the SbTB1 gene is not involved in the inhibition of bud outgrowth induced by defoliation in wild type seedlings. The results indicate variations in molecular mechanisms among different signals inhibiting branching. Increased expression of SbMAX2 (which encodes an F-box protein that represses bud outgrowth) in buds repressed by light and defoliation suggests common mechanisms at the downstream end of pathways inhibiting branching. The expression levels of several cell cycle-related genes including SbPCNA, SbHis4, SbCycD2, SbCycB and SbCDKB were down-regulated in the repressed buds of FRtreated and defoliated seedlings indicating the suspension of cell division in those buds. However, these cell cycle-related genes were continuously expressed in the repressed buds of phyB-1, suggesting that inhibition of bud outgrowth in phyB-1 is not associated with down-regulation of cell cycle-related gene expression. The down-regulation of cell cycle-related genes in the buds of FR-treated wild type seedlings indicates that other sensors, in addition to phyB, regulate bud outgrowth in response to FR enrichment. The approaches used and results achieved will provide direction for future research on this important topic.

Temperate maize is one of few model species that relies mainly on endogenous indicators of the plant’s developmental stage to cue the onset of reproductive development. The INDETERMINATE1 (ID1) transcription factor is a key regulator of the floral transition and id1 mutants are very late-flowering. ID1 is expressed and remains localized in developing leaves, while florigenic signals originate in mature, photosynthetically active leaves. Since very little is known about the molecular components of the floral transition in maize, and in autonomously flowering species at large, this work utilized id1 mutants to analyze the transcriptional and physiological alterations associated with the floral transition in maize. Analyses of functional categories of transcriptional change between developing leaves of id1 non-flowering mutants and normal flowering maize suggest a role for ID1 in energy metabolism and epigenetic regulation of leaf development. In addition, a novel family of -glucosidase genes were found to be expressed exclusively in immature leaves of normal flowering maize in a pattern similar to the ID1 gene suggesting that these genes may act in concert downstream of ID1. Further, profiling of transcript and metabolite alterations in mature leaves, which are likely the source of floral cues, suggest that coordination of resource storage in the form of transitory starch is an important signal for floral promotion in maize. Finally, analysis of the floral transition in Balsas teosinte, the progenitor of modern maize and an obligate short-day plant, suggests that ID1 may define a regulatory module unique to the autonomous floral regulation pathway in maize and related grass species.

El género Zea comprende varias especies de gramíneas de origen americano, de las cuales la única que tiene valor económico es Zea mays ssp mays, conocida como maíz, un cereal de alto valor energético cultivado para el consumo humano y animal. Las especies silvestres, conocidas colectivamente como Teosintes, difieren significativamente en su aspecto fenotípico con respecto al maíz, aunque en algunos casos, han desarrollado un aspecto similar, como respuesta a la erradicación selectiva realizada por los granjeros que la consideran una maleza del cultivo de maíz. Con el fin de dilucidar las relaciones fitogenéticas, el nivel de ploidía y la diferenciación evolutiuva de los genomios homeólogos del género Zea, se analizaron especies e híbridos de Zea a nivel fenotípico, genotípico y citogenético, induciéndose con solución diluida de colchicina el apareamiento intergenómico críptico de los genomios homeólogos. Los resultados obtenidos en este proyecto de investigación han proporcionado datos valiosos sobre las relaciones filogenéticas y evolutivas de las especies de este género. Asimismo, sobre la base de los resultados, se plantea una hipótesis en torno al origen evolutivo de la especie cultivada. / Molina Belver, MDC. (2011). Estudios citogenéticos evolutivos del género Zea [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/9912 / Palancia

Les complexes d'espèces rassemblant des formes sauvages et cultivées offrent une opportunité unique de disséquer les déterminants de l'adaptation à une échelle de temps courte (depuis la domestication) et à une échelle de temps plus longue (sélection naturelle dans les populations sauvages). Nous avons étudié ici le complexe formé par le maïs cultivé, Zea mays ssp. mays, et les formes sauvages apparentées, les téosintes des sous-espèces Zea mays ssp. mexicana et ssp. parviglumis. Le maïs a été domestiqué à partir de cette dernière au Mexique, il y a environ 9 000 ans. Nous avons tout d’abord étudié l'histoire démographique du maïs en utilisant des données de re-séquençage (24-53x) de 31 variétés locales de maïs couvrant sa distribution précolombienne. Nous avons confirmé l’existence d’un goulot d'étranglement pendant la domestication, entraînant une réduction importante de la taille effective de la population, ainsi que des effets de goulots en série au cours de sa dissémination post-domestication. Les effets indésirables de ces événements démographiques se traduisent par une augmentation des allèles délétères chez le maïs en comparaison des formes sauvages, particulièrement marquée chez les maïs andins. De façon intéressante, nous avons détecté des introgressions de la sous-espèce mexicana vers les maïs cultivés des régions montagneuses du Mexique, du Guatemala et du sud-ouest des États-Unis, qui réduisent la prévalence des allèles délétères. Nous avons ensuite étudié les changements plastiques dans l'expression des gènes en comparant les transcriptomes de maïs et de téosintes dans les conditions climatiques actuelles et des conditions proches de celles trouvées au moment de la domestication – basse température et faible teneur en CO₂. Nous avons identifié plus de 2000 locus qui présentent une expression différentielle entre conditions chez les téosintes, mais dont l’expression ne varie pas chez les maïs. Ces résultats suggèrent une plus grande plasticité de réponse chez les téosintes, appuyée par l’observation de changements plus substantiels dans les réseaux de co-expression chez les téosintes comparativement au maïs. Nous avons ensuite recherché les signatures génomiques de l'adaptation locale dans six populations naturelles de la sous-espèce parviglumis (20-25x). Nous avons identifié grâce à scans génomiques, des locus présentant des traces de balayages sélectifs forts et doux. Le chevauchement faible de ces locus entre les populations, indique une forte adaptation locale. Ainsi, l’adaptation génétique à une échelle géographique réduite, les introgressions répétées entre formes sauvages et domestiques et l'assimilation génétique qui « cimente » les phénotypes domestiqués initialement induits par des réponses plastiques à l'environnement, sont autant de mécanismes qui ont contribué à l’émergence et la diffusion du maïs cultivé. / Species complexes combining wild and cultivated forms provide a unique opportunity to dissect the determinants of adaptation at a short time scale (since domestication) and at a longer time scale (natural selection in wild populations). Here, we studied the complex formed by the cultivated maize, Zea mays ssp. mays, and related wild forms, teosintes subspecies Zea mays ssp. mexicana and ssp. parviglumis. Maize was domesticated from the later in Mexico about 9,000 years ago. We first studied the demographic history of maize using re-sequencing data (24-53x depth) of 31 local maize varieties covering its pre-Colombian distribution. We confirmed a bottleneck during domestication, resulting in a significant reduction in effective population size, as well as bottleneck effects during its post-domestication release. The adverse effects of these demographic events result in an increase in deleterious alleles in maize compared to its wild forms, especially in Andean maize. Interestingly, we detected introgression of mexicana subspecies into corn grown in the highlands of Mexico, Guatemala, and the southwestern United States, which reduced the prevalence of deleterious alleles. We then studied the plastic changes in gene expression by comparing maize and teosinte transcriptomes under current climatic conditions and conditions similar to those found at the time of domestication - low temperature and low CO₂ content. We have identified more than 2000 locus that show a differential expression of conditions in teosintes, but whose expression does not vary in corn. These results suggest a greater plastic response in teosintes, supported by observations of more substantial changes in co-expression networks in teosintes compared to maize. We then searched for genomic signatures of local adaptation in six natural populations of the subspecies parviglumis (20-25x sequencing depth). Genomic scans have identified loci with hard and soft selective sweeps. The low overlap of these loci between populations indicates a strong local adaptation. Thus, genetic adaptation to a small geographical scale, repeated introgression between wild and domestic forms and genetic assimilation that "cements" domesticated phenotypes initially induced by plastic responses to the environment, are all mechanisms that contributed the emergence and spread of cultivated maize.

Tillers are vegetative branches found in grasses, which develop in early stages of plant life. Located at the base of the central stalk, tillers have agronomical importance by increasing seed production with fewer tillers, or providing alternative forms of biofuel with more tillers. As grains have typically decreased tiller number while undergoing domestication, we explored wild and domesticated strains of varying grains by doing a morphological analysis on tiller development. This thesis shows how the decrease of tillers through in domestication cereals shows diversity not only across maize, Sorghum, and Setaria, but also between lines of maize and Setaria species. To do so, we first measured axillary bud growth across these grasses and compared bud initiation, growth, dormancy and outgrowth. While maize inbred B73 demonstrated a tiller dormancy pattern by initiating buds, growing buds and then bud dormancy we measured growth in Sorghum and Setaria to compare and found that although Sorghum patterns dormancy similar to maize, Setaria had more than one way tiller suppression not previously expected. We look further at Setaria buds with a statistical analysis of tiller origin and bud frequency in a wild strain and two domesticated strains of Setaria. Furthermore we performed Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to have a clear understanding of bud initiation or lack of initiation in Setaria italica (B100) comparing it to its wild ancestor Setaria viridis. Because of the diversity in Setaria, we re-visited maize tiller domestication by taking bud measurements, performing SEMs and counting bud frequency on other strains of inbred maize. We found that maize also shows diversity in its patterning of tiller domestication. These results demonstrate that there is diversity in the patterns in which tiller domestication has occurred. This diversity is shown here through differences in tiller bud decisions to initiate or not initiate, or to have axillary buds go dormant post-initiation. Furthermore this variance is shown through differences in bud frequency counts, growth measurements, SEMs, and where tiller branches originate across the grains of maize, Sorghum and Setaria.

The earwigs (Dermaptera) contains mostly nocturnal insects, which are considered subsocial due to formation of aggregated family groups and maternal care. Species of Dermaptera have been shown to play an important role as generalist predators in different crop systems worldwide. Despite that, the knowledge about their behavior and insect-plant interactions remains poorly understood. The earwig Doru luteipes (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) is one of the most important generalist predators in different crops, especially in maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) by voraciously consuming eggs and larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), key pests in this crop. Maize is one of most produced cereals in the word. However, great losses are registered annually due to pest attacks, despite the use of pesticides. Studies have demonstrated that domesticated plants such as maize have reduced defenses against herbivores in detriment to intensely selecting for rapid growth and high yield, when compared with their wild ancestors\' species known as teosintes (Zea spp.). This thesis focuses on the study of the trophic interactions which occur in the system \'Zea plants - herbivores caterpillars - predator earwig\' and is divided in four chapters. In the Chapter 1 is present a general introduction and the thesis outline. In the Chapter 2, we studied through scent collection and multiple-choice bioassays, the communication between D. luteipes individuals which influences their predatory behavior. Our results indicate that earwigs can produce and use chemical cues by conspecifics to orientate them towards foraging resources. In the Chapter 3, we investigated the predation behavior of earwigs during photo- and scotophase and their preference for maize volatiles induced by S. frugiperda or D. saccharalis at different time intervals (early and old damage). Behavior, olfactometry bioassays and plant volatile collections were conducted. As was hypothesized, earwigs showed a predation activity only during night. Besides that, they were attracted by maize odors produced by both caterpillars and showed significant preference to early-damage odors over old-damage. Therefore, it is considered that early-damage volatiles (Green Leaf Volatiles-GLVs) could be the key compounds of D. luteipes attraction. In the last part (Chapter 4) was explored how domestication of Zea plants influences insect-plants interactions through plant defense. Experiments about food utilization by caterpillars, olfactometry bioassays and plant volatile collections were conducted. Interestingly, as in the previous chapter, we suggest that GLVs have an important role in earwig attraction. The results show that life-history of Zea plants influences plant defense and consequently the plant-insect interactions. In conclusion, our findings bring a new contribution to the knowledge about plant defenses in a tritrophic context and predatory strategies in D. luteipes, which would promote alternatives to optimize the conservation and biological control of pest by predators in the field. / As tesourinhas (Dermaptera) são em sua maioria insetos noturnos considerados sub-sociais devido ao cuidado maternal e à formação de grupos familiares agregados. Espécies de Dermaptera possuem um papel importante como predadores generalistas em diferentes culturas em todo mundo. Apesar disso, o conhecimento sobre seu comportamento e as interações inseto-planta permanecem pouco estudadas. A tesourinha Doru luteipes Scudder (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) é um dos predadores mais frequentes em diferentes culturas, especialmente no milho (Zea mays ssp. mays), devido ao voraz consumo de ovos e lagartas de Spodoptera frugiperda e Diatraea saccharalis, pragas chave nesta cultura. O milho é um dos cereais mais produzidos no mundo, embora grandes perdas sejam registradas anualmente devido ao ataque de pragas, apesar do uso de agroquímicos. Estudos recentes demostraram que plantas domesticadas tais como o milho têm reduzido suas defesas contra os herbívoros em detrimento à intensa seleção de cultivares de rápido crescimento e alta produtividade, quando comparados com seus ancestrais selvagens conhecidos como teosintos (Zea spp.). Esta tese foca no estudo das interações tróficas que ocorrem no sistema \'plantas Zea - lagartas herbívoras - tesourinhas predadoras\' e foi dividida em quatro capítulos. No Capítulo 1, apresenta-se uma introdução geral e o esboço da tese. No Capítulo 2, a partir da coleta de voláteis de adultos de D. luteipes e ensaios de múltipla escolha, foi estudada a comunicação química entre estes indivíduos que influencia o comportamento de predação. No Capítulo 3 foi investigado o comportamento de predação das tesourinhas durante a foto e escotofase, e a preferência delas pelos voláteis do milho induzidos por S. frugiperda ou D. saccharalis, em diferentes intervalos de tempo (dano recente ou dano tardio). As tesourinhas mostraram atividade predatória apenas durante a noite, e foram atraídas pelos odores do milho atacados pelas duas lagartas. O dano recente (voláteis de folhas verdes-VFVs) contêm os compostos chaves para a atração de D. luteipes. No Capítulo 4 foi explorado como a domesticação das plantas Zea influenciam as interações com insetos por meio das defesas de plantas. Assim como no capitulo anterior, os VFVs apresentaram um importante papel na atração das tesourinhas. Os resultados indicaram que a história de vida do gênero Zea influenciou as defesas das plantas e consequentemente, as interações inseto-planta. Em conclusão, o presente trabalho traz novas contribuições ao conhecimento sobre defesas de plantas num contexto tritrófico, bem como às estratégias de predação em D. luteipes, o qual pode gerar ferramentas para otimizar a conservação e controle biológico de pragas por predadores em campo.

Endophytes are organisms that live inside plants without causing disease and include microbes that benefit their hosts by aiding in nutrient acquisition and pathogen control. This thesis concerns the endophytes of the genus Zea which includes modern maize (Zea mays L.). Beginning 9,000 years ago, maize was domesticated from wild grasses in Mexico (teosintes), bred into diverse varieties and moved to new soils throughout the Americas. The impact of these long-term changes on the associated endophytic communities has not been examined. Furthermore, today, maize is routinely transplanted around the world to facilitate breeding, but the short-term impact of switching soils on endophyte composition is not known. I attempted to answer the first question by surveying the bacterial endophytes that inhabit 14 diverse ancestral, ancient and modern Zea genotypes. To answer the second question, three extreme Zea genotypes, ancestral, intermediate and modern, were grown side by side on two extreme soils that span the tropical-to-temperate migration route of maize. Endophyte populations from seeds, roots and shoots were DNA fingerprinted using terminal restriction length polymorphism (TRFLP) of 16S rDNA. To understand microbial functions, bacteria were cultured and tested for >13 in vitro traits including nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, plant hormone production and antibiosis. Relationships between endophyte communities were analyzed using principle component analysis (PCA) and Sᴓrensen’s similarity index. The results show that different Zea tissues and genotypes have diverse endophytic communities. The community composition of seed endophytes correlates with host phylogeny suggesting that as humans bred maize, they inadvertently impacted its microbial inhabitants, though the change was gradual. Soil swapping and growth on sterile sand confirm that shoot and root endophyte communities in juvenile plants are primarily inherited. However, a given maize genotype can also select and take up the same microbes (based on TRFLP) from geographically diverse soils. These latter results show that the endophyte communities of Zea plants are significantly buffered from the short-term effects of migration. A few microbes and microbial traits are conserved across all Zea genotypes and soil treatments, suggestive of a core taxonomic and functional microbiota for this agriculturally important genus. / OMAFRA New Directions, Ontario Research Fund, Canadian Foundation for Innovation