The incomplete dominance of gene expression controlled by Trans-eQTL hotspots contributes to heterosis in maize
Gen Xu, Xuerong Yang, Mingyue Zhang, Congbin Kang, Ziang Tian, Yunhui Qi, Meijie Luo, Peng Liu, Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, Jinliang Yang, Hongjun Liu · 2026
Read The incomplete dominance of gene expression controlled by Trans-eQTL hotspots contributes to heterosis in maize by Gen Xu, Xuerong Yang, Mingyue Zhang, Congbin Kang, Ziang Tian, Yunhui Qi, Meijie Luo, Peng Liu, Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, Jinliang Yang, Hongjun Liu (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13381767.txt.
Description
Gen Xu and co-authors probe why hybrid corn outgrows both of its parents, a puzzle called heterosis or hybrid vigor. Their 2026 study joins gene activity data with trait data across many maize hybrids. About 30 percent of active genes in hybrid seedlings sat above or below the midpoint between the parents, a pattern called incomplete dominance.
Genes whose activity was set nearby mostly behaved in a simple additive way. The off-midpoint genes, by contrast, were often run by distant control spots that cluster into hotspots, each steering hundreds of genes. The team proved one hotspot's role by testing a switch gene called ZmR1, which shifted seedling and field traits alike. Their model gives breeders a clearer map of how hybrid vigor arises.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Gen Xu, Xuerong Yang, Mingyue Zhang, Congbin Kang, Ziang Tian, Yunhui Qi, Meijie Luo, Peng Liu, Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, Jinliang Yang, Hongjun Liu |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 58 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |