Pingping Yang , Jin Zhou , Minli Xu

Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
Maize Genomics and Genetics, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 5   
Received: 18 Jul., 2025    Accepted: 03 Sep., 2025    Published: 23 Sep., 2025

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.

The greenness retention trait is one of the key agronomic traits determining the stress resistance and high-yield potential of maize (Zea mays L.), especially showing significant value under stress conditions such as drought and late maturity. In this study, Near-Isogenic Lines (NILs) were used as research materials to precisely locate a major QTL in corn that was significantly associated with greenness holding traits, reveal its genetic basis and explore candidate gene resources. Through the construction of a high-density molecular marker map and precise phenotypic evaluation, The fine localization region of this QTL on chromosome 9 was identified under multi-environment experiments. Further, through recombinant single-plant analysis, candidate gene expression profiling and functional annotation, multiple key genes that may be involved in regulating chlorophyll degradation, photosynthesis maintenance and antioxidant pathways were preliminarily identified. This study also verified the expression and explored the biological significance of typical candidate genes such as Stay-Green1 (SGR1) and SAG12, providing an important basis for the molecular breeding of green-holding traits in maize and potential targets for the improvement of complex traits such as drought resistance and delayed senescence.

Corn; Green-holding property; QTL fine positioning; Near-isogenic line; Candidate gene