Cultivar · Maize inbred line
W22
W22 is a public maize inbred line associated with the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station and widely used as a genetics model. Its anthocyanin-expressing background and its role in transposon research make it a standard reference line, and it now has its own assembled genome.
Record
Cultivar / variety- Variety of
- Maize
- Botanical taxon
- Zea mays
- Type
- Inbred line
- Breeding method
- Public inbred line development
- Origin
- Wisconsin, United States
- Breeder / institution
- Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station
- Registry status
- Historical
- Registries
- USDA GRIN · United States · as of 2026-07-12W22 and its derived genetic stocks are maintained as public maize germplasm; specific record identifiers are not reproduced here.
- Adaptation
- Temperate maize maintained as a research inbred; grown under controlled and field research conditions rather than for commercial grain.
- Intended use
- Maize genetics and functional-genomics research, Reference background for transposon (Activator/Dissociation) studies, Reference genome for maize functional genomics
Registry listing or variety protection is jurisdiction- and date-specific and does not by itself indicate current commercial availability, universal cultivation approval, patent status, or a recommendation.
W22 is a public inbred line of maize associated with the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station and long used as a workhorse background for maize genetics. Unlike many Corn Belt inbreds, standard W22 stocks retain anthocyanin (purple/red) pigmentation, which has made the line valuable for studying pigment genetics and for visually tracking genetic markers.
W22 became a foundational background for classical maize genetics, including early transposon-tagging experiments using the Activator/Dissociation (Ac/Ds) system. In 2018 an assembled W22 reference genome was published to support functional-genomics and transposon research, complementing the B73 reference.
Background
W22 is one of the "W" (Wisconsin) maize inbred lines and is documented as having been developed at the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station. It is best known not as a production line but as a genetic model, in part because standard W22 stocks lack the anthocyanin suppressors common in Corn Belt inbreds and so express visible pigmentation controlled by well-characterized regulatory genes.
Research significance
The W22 background was adopted for many foundational studies in maize genetics, including work on pigment regulation and some of the first transposon-tagging experiments in plants using the Activator/Dissociation (Ac/Ds) elements. Its stable, well-characterized genetics made it a convenient platform for such experiments.
To support modern functional genomics, an assembled W22 reference genome was published in 2018, enabling precise mapping of transposon insertions and other genetic resources onto the W22 background.
Status and availability
Scope & limitations
Geographic scope: Associated with Wisconsin, United States; used internationally as a maize genetics research line.
Climate context: Temperate maize research line; maintained under research conditions rather than as a commercial crop.
- W22 is a research inbred and genetics reference, not a commercial hybrid; it is not grown for commercial grain.
- Precise origin dates and breeder attribution for W22 are not consistently documented; the line is described here by its documented institutional association and research use.
- Many distinct W22-derived stocks exist (for example color-converted and transposon-carrying versions), so "W22" refers to a family of closely related genetic stocks rather than a single uniform seed lot.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- [1]USDA ARS — Agricultural Research Service (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Cited for: Maize genetics resources, transposon research, and the W22 reference genome
- Type:
- Government agency
- Jurisdiction:
- United States
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [2]GRIN-Global / National Plant Germplasm System (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Cited for: Maintenance of W22-related maize genetic stocks as public germplasm
- Type:
- Official registry
- Jurisdiction:
- United States / Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12