Abstract
Maize (Zea mays L.) is truly a remarkable crop species, having been adapted from its tropical origins to a wide diversity of environments and end uses. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAOSTAT webpage, 792 million metric tons of maize were produced worldwide in 2007, making it the world’s highest yielding grain crop (http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx). When maize varieties adapted to tropical latitudes are grown in temperate environments such as the US Corn Belt, they flower later and produce little or no grain, but have higher total biomass yields compared to modern commercial corn grain hybrids (Fig. 1). Further, tropical maize also accumulates high amounts of extractable stalk sugar (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) because of reduced grain formation. Although offering potential benefits as a feedstock for biofuels, the direct use of tropical maize germplasm in temperate environments is hampered by greater lodging, less stress tolerance, and susceptibility to disease and insect pests – traits that have been greatly improved in modern US corn grain hybrids. However, hybrids derived from crossing temperate-adapted and tropical parents successfully combine the high biomass potential of tropical maize with the genetic improvements from the past century of corn breeding for high grain yields in temperate environments. Named “tropical maize,” these tropical x temperate hybrids produce greater biomass and sugar compared to current US corn hybrids using at least 50% less nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs (Table 1)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Ai, X., Xu, Q., Jones, M., Song, Q., Ding, S. Y., Ellingson, R. J., Himmel, M., and Rumbles, G. 2007. Photophysics of (CdSe) ZnS colloidal quantum dots in an aqueous environment stabilized with amino acids and genetically modified proteins. Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 6:1027–1033.
Boerjan, W., Ralph, J., and Baucher, M. 2003. Lignin biosynthesis. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 54:519–546.
Campbell, C. M. 1964. Influence of seed formation of corn on accumulation of vegetative dry matter and stalk strength. Crop Sci. 4:31–34.
Carpita, N. C. 1996. Structure and biogenesis of the cell walls of grasses. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol. 47:445–476.
Carpita, N. C., and Gibeaut, D. M. 1993. Structural models of primary cell walls in flowering plants: consistency of molecular structure with the physical properties of the walls during growth. Plant J. 3:1–30.
Carpita, N. C., and McCann, M. C. 2008. Maize and sorghum: genetic resources for the bioenergy grasses. Trends Plant Sci. 13:415–420.
Clark, C. F. 1913. Preliminary report on sugar production from maize. Circular 111, Bureau of Plant Industry. pp. 3–9.
Crafts-Brandner, S. J., Below, F. E., Harper, J. E., and Hageman, R. H. 1984. Differential senescence of maize hybrids following ear removal. I. Whole plant. Plant Physiol. 74:360–367.
Eveland, A. L., McCarty, D. R., and Koch, K. E. 2008. Transcript profiling by 3’-untranslated region sequencing resolves expression of gene families. Plant Physiol. 146:32–44.
Goldemberg, J. 2007. Ethanol for an energy sustainable future. Science 315:808–810.
Gore, H. C. 1947. Alcohol yielding power of succulent corn stalk juice. J. Am. Food Manuf. 24:46–61.
Himmel, M. E., Ding, S. Y., Johnson. D. K., Adney, W. S., Nimlos, M. R., Brady, J. W., and Foust, T. D. 2007. Biomass recalcitrance: engineering plants and enzymes for biofuels production. Science 315:804–807.
Jacobs, J. 2006. Ethanol from sugar: what are the prospects for U.S. sugar co-ops. Rural Cooperatives 73:25–38.
King, C. C., Thompson, D. L., and Burns, J. C. 1972. Plant component yield and cell contents of an adapted and a tropical corn Zea mays L. Crop Sci. 12:446–448.
Lange, J-P. 2007. Lignocellulose conversion: an introduction to chemistry, process and economics. Biofuels Bioproducts Biorefining 1:39–48.
Leshem, Y., and Wermke, M. 1981. Effect of plant density and removal of ears on the quality and quantity of forage maize in a temperate climate. Grass Forage Sci. 36:147–153.
Lu, F., and Ralph, J. 1999. The DFRC method for lignin analysis. 7. Behavior of cinnamyl end groups. J. Agric. Food Chem. 47:1981–1987.
Marten, G. C., and Westerberg, P. M. 1972. Maize fodder – influence of barrenness on yield and quality. Crop Sci. 12:367–369.
McCann, M. C., and Roberts, K. 1991. Architecture of the primary cell wall. In Cytoskeletal Basis of Plant Growth and Form, ed. C.W. Lloyd, pp. 109–129. New York: Academic.
Morrell, P. L., Williams-Coplin, T. D., Lattu, A. L., Bowers, F. E., Chandler, J. M., and Paterson, A. H. 2005. Crop-to-weed introgression has impacted allelic composition of johnsongrass populations with and without recent exposure to cultivated sorghum. Mol. Ecol. 14:2143–2154.
Penning, B. W., Hunter III, C. T., Tayengwa, R., Eveland, A. L., Dugard, C. K., Olek, A., Vermerris, W., Koch, K. E., McCarty, D. R., Davis, M., Thomas, S. R., McCann, M. C., and Carpita, N. C. 2009. Genetic resources for maize cell wall biology. Plant Physiol. 151:1703–1728.
Ragouskas, A. J., Williams, C. K., Davison, B. H., Britovsek, G., Cairney, J., Eckert, C. A., Frederick, W. J., Hallet, J. P., Leak, D. J., Liotta, C. L., Mielenz, J. R., Murphy, R., Templer, R., Tschaplinski, T. 2006. The path forward for biofuels and biomaterials. Science 311:484–489.
Sayre, J. D., Morris, V. H., and Richey, F. D. 1931. The effect of preventing fruiting and of reducing leaf area on the accumulation of sugars in corn stem. J. Am. Soc. Agron. 23:751–753.
Schnable, P., et al. [158 authors]. 2009. The B73 maize genome: complexity, diversity and dynamics. Science 326:1112–1115.
Singleton, W. R. 1948. Sucrose in the stalks of maize inbreds. Science 107:174.
Smalley, J., and Blake, M. 2003. Sweet beginnings: stalk sugar and the domestication of maize. Curr. Anthropol. 44:675–703.
Snow, A. A., Andow, D. A., Gepts, P., Hallerman, E. M., Power, A., Tiedje, J. M., and Wolfenbarger, L. L. 2005. Genetically engineered organisms and the environment: current status and recommendations. Ecol. Appl. 15:377–404.
Stake, P. E., Owens, M. L., Schingoethe, D. J., and Voelker, H. H. 1973. Comparative feeding value of high-sugar male sterile and regular dent corn silages. J. Dairy Sci. 56:1439–1444.
Vermerris, W., Saballos, A., Ejeta, G., Mosier, N. S., Ladisch, M. R., Carpita, N. C. 2007. Molecular breeding to enhance ethanol production from maize and sorghum stover. Crop Sci. 47:S142–S153.
Wang, M., Wu, M., and Hong, H. 2007. Life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas emission impacts of different corn ethanol plant types. Environ. Res. Lett. 2: Art. No. 024001.
Widstrom, N. W., Bagby, M. O., Palmer, D. M., Black, L. T., and Carr, M. E. 1984. Relative stalk sugar yields among maize populations, cultivars, and hybrids. Crop Sci. 24:913–915.
Winton, A. L., and Winton, K. B. 1939. The structure and composition of foods, Vol. 4. New York: Wiley.
Yu, J. M., Holland, J. B., McMullen, M. D., and Buckler, E. S. 2008. Genetic design and statistical power of nested association mapping in maize. Genetics 178:539–551.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
White, W.G., Moose, S.P., Weil, C.F., McCann, M.C., Carpita, N.C., Below, F.E. (2011). Tropical Maize: Exploiting Maize Genetic Diversity to Develop a Novel Annual Crop for Lignocellulosic Biomass and Sugar Production. In: Buckeridge, M., Goldman, G. (eds) Routes to Cellulosic Ethanol. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-92740-4_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-92740-4_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-92739-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-92740-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)