James Holland
USDA Professor
Maize Breeding & Genetics
Faculty
Williams Hall 1238
We are interested in understanding the nature of genetic variation within maize (field corn),Zea mays:
- How is genetic variation distributed among and within temperate inbred lines, temperate landraces, tropical inbred lines, and tropical accessions?
- Are there unique allelic variants in exotic, tropical maize that are absent from the U.S. breeding pool?
- Which genomic regions are associated with phenotypic variance for important agronomic traits (grain yield, flowering time, plant height, disease resistance)?
- How do allelic variations at different loci interact in their effects on phenotypes (is epistasis important, and how does it ramify from genic interactions to phenotypic interactions)?
- What are the most efficient breeding procedures for incorporating unique and favorable alleles from unadapted genetic backgrounds into well-adapted temperate lines?
- Can DNA marker-assisted selection aid us in this task?
In addition, we have a program to identify the genetic basis of resistance to corn ear rot caused by Fusarium fungal species and of resistance to the accumulation of the mycotoxin, fumonisin, caused by the fungus.
Publications
- Environment-specific genomic prediction ability in maize using environmental covariates depends on environmental similarity to training data, G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS (2022)
- Outlook for Implementation of Genomics-Based Selection in Public Cotton Breeding Programs, Plants (2022)
- Prediction ability of genome-wide markers in Pinus taeda L. within and between population is affected by relatedness to the training population and trait genetic architecture, G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS (2022)
- A conserved genetic architecture among populations of the maize progenitor, teosinte, was radically altered by domestication, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (2021)
- Characterizing the oligogenic architecture of plant growth phenotypes informs genomic selection approaches in a common wheat population, BMC GENOMICS (2021)
- Domestication Reshaped the Genetic Basis of Inbreeding Depression in a Maize Landrace Compared to its Wild Relative, Teosinte (2021)
- Domestication reshaped the genetic basis of inbreeding depression in a maize landrace compared to its wild relative, teosinte, PLOS GENETICS (2021)
- Drought resilience in CIMMYT maize lines adapted to Africa resulting from transpiration sensitivity to vapor pressure deficit and soil drying, JOURNAL OF CROP IMPROVEMENT (2021)
- Effects of artificial inoculation on trait correlations with resistance to Fusarium ear rot and fumonisin contamination in maize, CROP SCIENCE (2021)
- Eleven biosynthetic genes explain the majority of natural variation in carotenoid levels in maize grain, PLANT CELL (2021)