Random vs. candidate genes?
The distinction between “random” and “candidate” genes is of great importance to our project. By random genes we refer to genes which we have chosen to study without any prior knowledge or consideration of the function of the proteins (or RNAs) that they encode. These were selected from a random set of expressed DNA sequences (DNA sequences that are copied, or transcribed, into RNA), so the only thing that we knew for certain at the time of choosing was that the sequences in fact came from genes (as opposed to intergenic sequences). By candidate genes we refer to genes of known or suspected function that are likely to be involved in the control of agronomic or evolutionary traits of interest. Traits of interest to our project include flowering time, inflorescence architecture, cob development, kernel quality, leaf development, plant architecture, and traits that differ markedly between domesticated maize and its wild progenitor species, teosinte. Candidate genes are like “hunches” or e
