ArticleJournal of the science of food and agriculture2026
Changes in vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoid metabolism during early kernel development in maize.
Article in Journal of the science of food and agriculture, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMaize (Zea mays L.), as the most widely cultivated cereal and a dietary cornerstone, provides not only carbohydrates but also essential micronutrients critical for human health, including vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoids. However, conventional maize varieties typically exhibit suboptimal levels of these compounds. This study investigated the dynamic accumulation of vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoids, along with their transcriptional regulation, during early kernel development (9-15 days after pollination (DAP)) in maize.
resultsCombined metabolite and transcriptome analyses showed a 23-fold increase in vitamin C content, associated with enhanced expression of the gene VTC2. Id1 and AGAMOUS-like MADS-box transcription factors (TFs) are putative regulators, targeting the promoters of GalDH and VTC2 to regulate vitamin C biosynthesis. Vitamin E showed isomer-specific fluctuations during early kernel development, mainly associated with the expression of VTE1, VTE2, and VTE4, and potentially regulated by knotted 1 and the AGAMOUS-like MADS-box TFs via VTE2 and VTE3, respectively. Total carotenoid content tripled, with zeaxanthin becoming dominant by 15 DAP, driven by upregulated PSY1 and CHYB-1. ERF003 was identified as a candidate regulator of PSY3.
conclusionThe increases in vitamin C and carotenoid content, and the fluctuation of vitamin E isomers during early maize kernel development, were associated with the modulation of key genes and putative TFs. These findings reveal theoretical insights and provide candidate genetic targets for future breeding efforts aimed at enhancing micronutrient levels in maize. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.