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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
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A Rapid and Efficient Method for Assessing Pathogenicity of Ustilago maydis on Maize and Teosinte Lines
Published on: January 4, 2014
From teosinte to maize: the catastrophic sexual transmutation
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|November 25, 1983
Summary
Maize (Zea mays) may have evolved from the male tassel of teosinte, not its female ear. This theory explains genetic similarities and maize
Area of Science:
- Botany
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- The evolutionary origin of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) from teosinte is debated.
- Existing theories struggle to explain the minimal genetic and biochemical differences between maize and teosinte.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and support an alternative hypothesis for the evolution of the maize ear.
- To explain the morphological and genetic similarities between maize and teosinte.
Main Methods:
- Morphological comparison of maize and teosinte inflorescences.
- Analysis of genetic and biochemical data.
- Hypothesizing epigenetic and developmental changes.
Main Results:
- The male teosinte tassel is morphologically consistent with the structure of the maize ear.
- This hypothesis better explains the limited genetic divergence between maize and teosinte.
- Maize's unisexual inflorescences suggest a rapid, possibly environmentally triggered, sexual transmutation.
Conclusions:
- The maize ear likely evolved from the teosinte male tassel, not the female ear.
- This evolutionary pathway involved epigenetic changes, apical dominance, and altered nutrient allocation.
- Human selection likely assimilated this abnormality, leading to the modern maize plant.
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