Comparative Study between Morphological and Microsatellite Markers for Genetic Purity Testing of Maize (Zea mays L.) F1 Hybrids

Author: V. Satya Srii and N. Nethra

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Abstract

The genetic purity of seeds is the chief determinant to exploit the varietal or hybrid potential. Despite the serious attempts of many public and private sector institutes in the development of high yielding hybrids, farmers fail to realize the assured yield potential due to lack of genetic purity of procured seeds. In this study, we aimed to study and compare the efficiency of different methods of genetic purity testing i.e., Grow-out Test (GOT) and Simple Sequence Repeat (SSRs) in maize hybrids MAH-14-5 and Hema. Ten unique morphological markers were identified between the hybrids MAH 14-5 and Hema and their parental lines. Twenty-five SSR markers were screened out of which seven showed polymorphism. Of these identified polymorphic markers, two i.e. Bnlg 1520 and Umc 1288 were uniquely polymorphic to MAH-14-5 and three i.e. Phi 053, Bnlg 1621 and Bnlg 1014 were uniquely polymorphic to Hema while two i.e. Bnlg 1185 and Umc 1594 showed common polymorphism to both Hema and MAH-14-5. Ten seed lots of Hema were tested with the identified morphological and microsatellite markers. The comparative analysis of lot testing confirmed the superiority of microsatellite markers over morphological markers in the precise detection of off-types. Hence, it is concluded that microsatellite marker analysis would be a better substitute for conventional GOT to test for seed genetic purity.

Keywords

Genetic purity, GOT, Maize, Microsatellite, SSR

Conclusion

We conclude that it is possible to differentiate maize hybrids more accurately and efficiently from their parental lines and off-types/selfed seeds using locus-specific allelic information through SSR markers. Molecular markers are much reliable, precise, and time saving compared to conventional markers. Due to the lesser time requirement for molecular marker analysis and its precision, farmers can be provided with high-quality seeds at the right time. So, it is suggested that a shift from morphological to molecular markers for genetic purity testing of seed lots would revolutionize the seed industry.

References

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How to cite this article

V. Satya Srii and N. Nethra (2023). Comparative Study between Morphological and Microsatellite Markers for Genetic Purity Testing of Maize (Zea mays L.) F1 Hybrids. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(2): 158-163.