Vitamin E, consisting of tocopherols and tocotrienols, serves as a lipid-soluble antioxidant in sweet corn kernels, providing nutrients to both plants and humans. Though the key genes involved in the vitamin E biosynthesis pathway have been identified in plants, the genetic architecture of vitamin E content in sweet corn kernels remains largely unclear. In the present study, an association panel of 204 inbred lines of sweet corn was constructed. Seven compounds of vitamin E were quantified in sweet corn kernels at 28 days after pollination. A total of 119 loci for vitamin E were identified using a genome-wide association study based on genotyping by sequencing, and a genetic network of vitamin E was constructed. Candidate genes identified were involved mainly in RNA regulation and protein metabolism. The known gene ZmVTE4, encoding γ-tocopherol methyltransferase, was significantly associated with four traits (α-tocopherol, α-tocotrienol, the α/γ-tocopherol ratio, and the α/γ-tocotrienol ratio). The effects of two causative markers on ZmVTE4 were validated by haplotype analysis. Finally, two elite cultivars (Yuetian 9 and Yuetian 22) with a 4.5-fold increase in the sum of α- and γ-tocopherols were developed by marker-assisted selection, demonstrating the successful biofortification of sweet corn. Three genes (DAHPS, ADT2, and cmu2) involved in chorismate and tyrosine synthesis were significantly associated with the α/γ-tocotrienol ratio. These results shed light on the genetic architecture of vitamin E and may accelerate the nutritional improvement of sweet corn.

Stress induced by low temperature, which represents a widespread environmental factor, strongly affects maize growth and yield. However, the physiological characteristics and molecular regulatory mechanisms of maize seedlings in response to cold remain poorly understood. In this study, using RNA-seq, we investigated the transcriptome profiles of two sweet corn inbred lines, “Richao” (RC) and C5, under cold stress. A total of 357 and 455 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the RC and C5 lines, respectively, 94 DEGs were detected as common DEGs related to cold response in both genotypes, and a total of 589 DEGs were detected as cold tolerance-associated genes. By combining protein function clustering analysis and significantly enriched Gene Ontology (GO) terms analysis, we suggest that transcription factors may play a dominating role in the cold stress response and tolerance of sweet corn. Furthermore, 74 differentially expressed transcription factors were identified, of those many genes involved in the metabolism and regulation of hormones. These results expand our understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in chilling tolerance in maize, and provide a set of candidate genes for further genetic analyses.