Gene

Germplasm

Biotechnology

Biology

Transgene

Botany

Genetically modified crops

Carbon assimilation

Genetics

Arabidopsis

MADS-box

Mutant

Agronomy

Grain yield

Plant breeding

Photosynthesis

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Increasing maize grain yield has been a major focus of both plant breeding and genetic engineering to meet the global demand for food, feed, and industrial uses. We report that increasing and extending expression of a maize MADS-box transcription factor gene, zmm28 , under the control of a moderate-constitutive maize promoter, results in maize plants with increased plant growth, photosynthesis capacity, and nitrogen utilization. Molecular and biochemical characterization of zmm28 transgenic plants demonstrated that their enhanced agronomic traits are associated with elevated plant carbon assimilation, nitrogen utilization, and plant growth. Overall, these positive attributes are associated with a significant increase in grain yield relative to wild-type controls that is consistent across years, environments, and elite germplasm backgrounds.

Overexpression of <i>zmm28</i> increases maize grain yield in the field

Overexpression of zmm28 increases maize grain yield in the field