ABSTRACT
Comparative genomics is the study of DNA sequences between different organisms and serves as a foundation for functional genomics. The availability of several completely sequenced plant genomes provides information on genome design, function and evolution with high resolution (Sivashankari and Shanmughavel 2007). Comparative genomic analyses of maize germplasm provide an opportunity to unravel the genetic basis of phenotypic diversity and elucidate the consequences of domestication (Jiao et al. 2012).
