Jiansheng Li

Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
Maize Genomics and Genetics, 2024, Vol. 15, No. 5   
Received: 08 Jul., 2024    Accepted: 15 Aug., 2024    Published: 06 Sep., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Phylogenomic studies have significantly advanced our understanding of the evolutionary relationships and species divergence within the genus Zea. By analyzing complete plastid genomes from five Zea species (Zea diploperennis, Zea perennis, Zea luxurians, Zea nicaraguensis, and Zea mays subsp. huehuetenangensis), this study investigates the rates and patterns of microstructural changes, including inversions and insertion/deletion mutations (indels). The findings reveal 193 indels and 15 inversions, with tandem repeat indels being the most prevalent. Divergence times were estimated using a noncorrelated relaxed clock method, indicating that the stem lineage of all Zea species diverged approximately 176 000 years before present (YBP). The mutation rates for the genus ranged from 1.7E-8 to 3.5E-8 microstructural changes per site per year, highlighting non-uniform rates of change despite close taxonomic relationships. These results corroborate previous studies on Zea mitochondrial and nuclear data, providing a comprehensive phylogenomic framework for understanding the evolutionary history and diversification of Zea species.

Maize (Zea mays); Phylogenomics; Zea species; Microstructural changes; Divergence times; Plastid genomes