Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Directional evolution for microsatellite size in maize.

Yves Vigouroux1, Yoshihiro Matsuoka, John Doebley

  • 1Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.

Molecular Biology and Evolution
|July 2, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Maize microsatellites show directional size evolution, increasing in North and South America compared to Mexico. This trend, linked to altitude, suggests caution when estimating population parameters using microsatellite data in maize.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Transpiration responds linearly to Penman-Monteith reference evapotranspiration and varies genetically, both in individual plants and canopies, in large sorghum and pearl millet panels.

Plant phenomics (Washington, D.C.)·2026
Same author

Evolution of crop phenotypic spaces through domestication.

The New phytologist·2026
Same author

Linking Genomic Offset Statistics to the Shape of Selection Gradients.

The American naturalist·2026
Same author

Interplay between large low-recombining regions and pseudo-overdominance in a plant genome.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

f<sub>4</sub>-statistics-based ancestry profiling and convolutional neural network phenotyping shed new light on the structure of genetic and spike shape diversity in Aegilops tauschii Coss.

Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and biological sciences·2025
Same author

Genetic control of the leaf ionome in pearl millet and correlation with root and agromorphological traits.

PloS one·2025

Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Bioinformatics

Background:

  • Microsatellites are repetitive DNA sequences prone to size changes.
  • Directional evolution describes consistent size increase or decrease in microsatellites over time.
  • Maize (Zea mays) has a well-documented phylogeographic history originating in Mexico.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate directional evolution in maize microsatellites across its pre-Columbian range.
  • To assess the relationship between microsatellite size, geographic origin, and altitude in maize.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 99 microsatellite loci in 193 maize plants.
  • Comparison of microsatellite allele sizes across Mexican, North American, and South American populations.
  • Correlation analysis between microsatellite allele size and altitude.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • A significant increase in average microsatellite allele size was observed in North and South American maize groups relative to the ancestral Mexican group.
  • A negative correlation between average microsatellite allele size and altitude was found across all populations.
  • Evidence supports directional evolution in maize microsatellites.

Conclusions:

  • Directional evolution in maize microsatellites is influenced by factors including mutation rates, mutational bias, population demographics, and potentially selection.
  • The findings highlight the need for caution when estimating population genetic parameters in maize using microsatellite data due to observed directional evolution.