Although tremendous strides have been made in understanding how individual genes control simple traits, modern plant geneticists still face the significant challenge of identifying and describing the genes and alleles that control complex traits [quantitative trait loci (QTL)]. My laboratory uses functional genomic approaches to dissect complex traits in maize and other plants. Our current focus is developing association analyses that exploit the natural diversity of the maize genome to map at very high resolutions. This includes the creation of large scale mapping populations.

Any useful variants of important agronomic genes that result from these plant genome studies need to be applied to future breeding strategies. Through various collaborative efforts, we are applying our research to maize breeding, including efforts to improve kernel quality and increase tolerance to soil-related abiotic stresses.

Our work includes three main areas of research: First, we are developing a platform to rapidly dissect complex traits in maize by utilizing both association and linkage based approaches. To conduct these analyses, we have developed linkage and association populations that capture much of the natural variation inherent in the maize genome. We are now phenotyping these populations extensively, and surveying tens of thousands of candidate gene sequences. The development and adaptation of novel statistical genetic approaches is also required to study these diverse mapping populations.

The second aspect of our work is trait dissection. A full range of genomic and field genetic approaches are being used to identify alleles involved in nitrogen efficiency, aluminum tolerance, and kernel quality (starch, oil, and nutrients). Targeted alleles are those that can reduce the environmental impact of maize agriculture and provide a more nutritional plant. RNA and metabolite profiling and other genomic approaches are being applied to dissect these traits.

Finally, we are developing improved bioinformatics tools that integrate public databases with genomic diversity data and agronomic data.

For more detailed information about my laboratory, please visit our website at http://www.maizegenetics.net/