A cellular study of teosinte Zea mays subsp. parviglumis (Poaceae) caryopsis development showing several processes conserved in maize.

The evolutionary history of maize (Zea mays subsp. mays) is of general interest because of its economic and scientific importance. Here we show that many cellular traits described previously in developing caryopses of maize are also seen in its wild progenitor teosinte (Zea mays subsp. parviglumis). These features, each with a possible role in development, include (1) an early programmed cell death in the maternal placento-chalazal (P-C) layer that may lead to increased hydrolytic conductance to the developing seed; (2) accumulation of phenolics and flavonoids in the P-C layer that may be related to antimicrobial activity; (3) formation of wall ingrowths in the basal endosperm transfer layer (BETL); (4) localization of cell wall invertase in the BETL, which is attributed to the increased transport capacity of photosynthates to the sink; and (5) endoreduplication in endosperm nuclei suggested to contribute to increased gene expression and greater sink capacity of the developing seed. In maize caryopsis, these cellular traits have been previously attributed to domestication and selection for larger seed size and vigor. Given the conservation of the entire cellular program in developing teosinte caryopses described here, we suggest that these traits evolved independently of domestication and predate human selection pressure.