Genetics, Genomics and Breeding of Maize

Genomics is defined as the study of genes and their functions, and related techniques. The main difference between genomics and genetics is that genetics scrutinizes the functioning and composition of the single gene where as genomics addresses all genes and their inter relationships in order to identify their combined influence on the growth and development of the organism. The plant genetics and genomics addresses the fundamental nature of genes and genomes at any level, e.g., from molecular to chromosomal and from population genetics to comparative genomics, by means of either experimental or computational approaches, in plants as well as algae, including applications of genetic and genomic knowledge to plant biology and plant improvement. Maize or corn is a cereal crop that is grown widely throughout the world in a range of agroecological environments. More maize is produced annually than any other grain. About 50 species exist and consist of different colors, textures and grain shapes and sizes. White, yellow and red are the most common types. The white and yellow varieties are preferred by most people depending on the region. Maize is the most important cereal crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and an important staple food for more than 1.2 billion people in SSA and Latin America. All parts of the crop can be used for food and non-food products. In industrialized countries, maize is largely used as livestock feed and as a raw material for industrial products.