{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T08:55:48Z","timestamp":1791276948184,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":73,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788220800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"funder":[{"name":"Young Scientist Program of National Key Research and Development Program of China","award":["2023YFD1201800"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023YFD1201800"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32472031"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32472031"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32472228"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32472228"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Maize (Zea mays L.) is a vital global crop, contributing approximately 37% of annual grain production. Enhancing yield per unit area is crucial for food security, yet research has primarily focused on single-ear traits, overlooking the regulation of double ears\u2014a key determinant of prolificacy. While secondary ears drive yield variability under prolificacy-favoring conditions, the mechanisms governing ear formation across shoot positions remain poorly understood. Here, we performed high-resolution transcriptomic analysis of 66 samples from 3 ear types (primary, secondary, and tertiary) in maize inbred B73. We uncovered distinct hormonal developmental dynamics: strigolactone (SL) signaling genes, particularly SBP transcription factors, dominated in primary (I) ears, whereas ethylene-related genes (eg, ZmEREB131, ZmACCO35) were enriched in third (III) ears. Functional validation confirmed that knockout of ZmEREB131 and ZmACCO35 accelerated development and elongated ears compared with wild type, implicating ethylene (ETH) signaling in ear maturation arrest. Notably, SL inhibitor application synchronized primary and secondary ear development, boosting total yield by &amp;gt;20% without compromising primary ear performance. Our study elucidates the transcriptional networks underlying differential ear development and provides actionable strategies for yield improvement through targeted hormonal modulation. These findings advance the understanding of maize inflorescence biology and offer molecular tools for breeding high-yielding varieties.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/plcell\/koag269","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T16:44:31Z","timestamp":1788799471000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Transcriptional and phytohormonal regulation of positional ear development reveals yield strategies in maize"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"38","author":[{"given":"Lu","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University , Haidian, Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaomeng","family":"Shen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Crop Molecular Breeding\/The Shennong Laboratory, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, P.R. \u00a0","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-7813-1029","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhaobin","family":"Ren","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University , Haidian, Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ziyi","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University , Haidian, Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-9268-2849","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Guorui","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University , Haidian, Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1776-5670","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Si","family":"Shen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4475-8350","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yuyi","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University , Haidian, Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3273-436X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mingcai","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University , Haidian, Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0092-5359","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shuaisong","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1275-581X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhaobin","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-Breeding, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, National Maize Improvement Center, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193 ,","place":["P.R. China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9134-4711","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Feng","family":"Qin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9202-9641","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jinsheng","family":"Lai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-Breeding, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, National Maize Improvement Center, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193 ,","place":["P.R. China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3826-4373","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhaohu","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University , Haidian, Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5329-8195","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fei","family":"Yi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University , Haidian, Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-7618-384X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Liusheng","family":"Duan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University , Haidian, Beijing 100193 ,","place":["China"]},{"name":"College of Plant Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture , Changping, Beijing 102206 ,","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026100604464713000_koag269-B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3408","DOI":"10.1105\/tpc.20.00300","article-title":"Evolutionary variation in MADS box dimerization affects floral development and protein abundance in 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