Maize Genomics Resource

Maize (Zea mays) is the most produced (as measured by tonnes) staple crop world-wide and has been the focus of intense breeding efforts to improve agronomic traits for centuries. However, the genetic basis of numerous phenotypes is still unknown and genomic tools provide a valuable resource to accelerate breeding efforts. To facilitate breeding and research efforts in maize, we analyzed publicly available transcriptomic data for the reference maize inbred, B73, and developed the Maize Genomics Resource (MGR). Transcriptomic data from the developmental B73 gene atlas and several B73 abiotic and biotic stress experiments were aligned to the AGPv4 B73 genome assembly and gene expression was quantified using the Zm00001d.1 gene annotation. Differential and co-expression analyses were conducted, and orthologous genes were characterized. The data was also deployed to the Bio-Analytic Resource for Plant Biology (BAR) eFP browser and new AGPv4 views were developed. The MGR consists of a set of search and query tools to quickly access this information via a BLAST server, genome browser, and gene report pages. Bulk data are also available for download.