Classical Maize Genes Examples

Interesting examples taken from the Classical Maize Genes dataset.

A local duplication of phytochrome A

The phytochromes are a class of genes that encode photoreceptors, proteins that help a plant tell the kind of light what light falls upon it. Since plants can't run away they need to adapt to their environment, and to adapt to their environment they must be able to perceive it. Most grasses are considered to have 3 phytochromes: A, B, and C. Maize still contains two copies of each gene from the maize whole genome duplication (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2).

Looking at the syntenic panel for phytochrome A1 from maize, we can see that both Brachypodium and Sorghum contain a local duplicate of phytochrome A.