Grain Yield Increase and Pollen Containment by Plus‐Hybrids Could Improve Acceptance of Transgenic Maize

Maize (Zea mays L.) Plus‐Hybrids are a blend of cytoplasmic male‐sterile (CMS) hybrids and unrelated male‐fertile hybrids ensuring pollination of the whole stand. Combining potential benefits of male sterility (CMS effect) and allo‐pollination (xenia effect), they often outperform the corresponding...

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Published in:	Crop science Vol. 50; no. 3; pp. 909 - 919
Main Authors:	Munsch, Magali A., Stamp, Peter, Christov, Nikolai K., Foueillassar, Xavier M., Hüsken, Alexandra, Camp, Karl‐Heinz, Weider, Christophe
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Madison Crop Science Society of America 01-05-2010 American Society of Agronomy
Subjects:	Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions Bacillus thuringiensis Biological and medical sciences Corn Crop yield Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Genetic engineering applications Genetics Genetics and breeding of economic plants Hybrids Inbreeding Male sterility Plant breeding: fundamental aspects and methodology Pollen Pollination Pollinators Studies Xenia Zea mays Monocotyledones Zea mays Grains Gramineae Angiospermae Hybrid Spermatophyta Transgenic plant Pollen Yield Cereal crop
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Summary:	Maize (Zea mays L.) Plus‐Hybrids are a blend of cytoplasmic male‐sterile (CMS) hybrids and unrelated male‐fertile hybrids ensuring pollination of the whole stand. Combining potential benefits of male sterility (CMS effect) and allo‐pollination (xenia effect), they often outperform the corresponding male‐fertile sib‐pollinated hybrids in terms of yield. The combining abilities of five CMS hybrids and eight pollinators were investigated in a factorial split‐plot design in 12 environments in four countries and two years. The plant material from different breeders represented the three types of male‐sterile cytoplasm. Plus‐Hybrids increased grain yield, on average, by 10% or more and by up to 20% in specific environments. Three highly responsive CMS hybrids and four generally good pollinators were identified. The Plus‐Hybrid effect affected both yield components, CMS leading mainly to a higher number of kernels (KN) and the xenia effect mainly to an increase in the thousand kernel weight (TKW). Despite some differences in the response of the three types of CMS, the effect of the cytoplasm was not significant. While the CMS effect depended strongly on environment, the xenia was consistent in all environments but its extent varied. As well as increasing yield, we can expect that Plus‐Hybrids can make a large contribution to the coexistence of transgenic and conventional maize by biocontainment, that is, eliminating or reducing the release of transgenic pollen in Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize or herbicide‐tolerant (HT) maize.
Bibliography:	All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher. ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	0011-183X 1435-0653 1435-0653
DOI:	10.2135/cropsci2009.03.0117