We have developed a seed DNA-based marker-assisted selection (MAS) system using single maize seeds. The accuracy of MAS based on this method may be affected by hetero-fertilization (HF), which may cause seed DNA-based analysis to wrongly predict plant genotypes due to genotyping of endosperm DNA which could be different from that of the embryo and thus the derived plant. To investigate the potential influence of HF on seed DNAbased MAS and the effect of different genetic backgrounds, five F2 and four three-way segregating populations (each with 534 to 1024 individuals) were used for comparative SSR marker-based analysis of endosperm and embryo. The results indicate that the frequency of HF within these populations ranged from 0.14% to 2.18%, with an average of 1.16%. The highest proportion of HF across both types of population was contributed by the pollen gametes, as reported previously based on morphological marker analyses. This is the first report of HF contributed by maternal gametes in populations from three-way crosses, albeit at very low frequency (0.14%-0.65%). Although single fertilization or haploid tissues were not observed in the tested materials, seed DNA-based analysis combined with specific genetic stocks could be useful for revealing the relationships among various aberrant fertilization phenomena.

Genetic Resources Program|Global Maize Program

Text in English

INT3336|INT2735