The domestication and improvement of maize resulted in radical changes in shoot architecture relative to its wild progenitor teosinte. In particular, critical modifications involved a reduction of branching and an increase in inflorescence size to meet the needs for human consumption and modern agricultural practices. Maize is a major contributor to global agricultural production by providing large and inexpensive quantities of food, animal feed, and ethanol. Maize is also a classic system for studying the genetic regulation of inflorescence formation and its enlarged female inflorescences directly influence seed production and yield. Studies on the molecular and genetic networks regulating meristem proliferation and maintenance, including receptor-ligand interactions, transcription factor regulation, and hormonal control, provide important insights into maize inflorescence development and reveal potential avenues for the targeted modification of specific architectural traits. In this review, we summarize recent findings on the molecular mechanisms controlling inflorescence formation and discuss how this knowledge can be applied to improve maize productivity in the face of present and future environmental challenges.

玉米的驯化和改良导致其芽结构相对于其野生祖先类蜀黍发生了根本性的变化。特别是，关键的修改涉及减少分枝和增加花序大小，以满足人类消费和现代农业实践的需求。玉米提供大量且廉价的食品、动物饲料和乙醇，是全球农业生产的主要贡献者。玉米也是研究花序形成遗传调控的经典系统，其增大的雌花序直接影响种子的产量和产量。对调节分生组织增殖和维持的分子和遗传网络的研究，包括受体-配体相互作用、转录因子调节和激素控制，为玉米花序发育提供了重要的见解，并揭示了有针对性地修改特定结构性状的潜在途径。在这篇综述中，我们总结了有关控制花序形成的分子机制的最新发现，并讨论了如何应用这些知识来提高玉米生产力，以应对当前和未来的环境挑战。