Molecular classification of Maize cytoplasms in a breeding program

• Main Author: Colombo. N * , Presello, D.A. , Kandus M. , G.E. Eyherabide and J.C. Salerno
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Indian Society of Plant Breeders 2012-06-01
• Series: Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding
• Subjects: Maize; cytoplasmic male sterility; molecular markers; hybrid seed production.
• Online Access: https://sites.google.com/site/ejpb2011/vol-3-2/Vol-3-2-741-746.pdf?attredirects=0

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is maternally inherited in most of higher plants species. Together with nuclear restorer genes (Rf), CMS cytoplasms contribute significantly to the efficient production of hybrid seed. Three main types of male sterile cytoplasms are known in maize: T, S and C, which can be distinguished by crossing with specific restorer lines. Recently, PCR markers have been developed allowing the identification of different cytoplasms quickly and accurately. Our objective was to classify the cytoplasm type of maize inbred lines used in our breeding program and F1s obtained from crosses between CMS lines and elite maize lines using PCR multiplex. A multiplex PCR protocol was optimized for our conditions. We obtained the molecular classification of the analyzed cytoplasms. The optimized protocol is a valuable tool to trace male sterile cytoplasms and determine hybrid seed purity in our maize breeding program.