Maize (Zea mays L.) plays an important role in global food security. During 9,000 years of maize domestication and breeding, however, protein content was not a major breeding target. Consequently, many beneficial gene variants associated with higher protein content were gradually lost from cultivate d maize. As a result, modern maize varieties often have low seed protein content, leading to a heavy reliance on imported soybean meal for livestock feed. ...read more read less