skip to main content


Title: Classification approaches for sorting maize ( Zea mays subsp. mays ) haploids using single‐kernel near‐infrared spectroscopy
Abstract

Doubled haploids (DHs) are an important breeding tool for creating maize inbred lines. One bottleneck in the DH process is the manual separation of haploids from among the much larger pool of hybrid siblings in a haploid induction cross. Here, we demonstrate the ability of single‐kernel near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopy (skNIR) to identify haploid kernels. The skNIR is a high‐throughput device that acquires an NIR spectrum to predict individual kernel traits. We collected skNIR data from haploid and hybrid kernels in 15 haploid induction crosses and found significant differences in multiple traits such as percent oil, seed weight, or volume, within each cross. The two kernel classes were separated by their NIR profile using Partial Least Squares Linear Discriminant Analysis (PLS‐LDA). A general classification model, in which all induction crosses were used in the discrimination model, and a specific model, in which only kernels within a specific induction cross, were compared. Specific models outperformed the general model and were able to enrich a haploid selection pool to above 50% haploids. Applications for the instrument are discussed.

 
more » « less
NSF-PAR ID:
10454457
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley-Blackwell
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Plant Breeding
Volume:
139
Issue:
6
ISSN:
0179-9541
Page Range / eLocation ID:
p. 1103-1112
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract

    All mitochondrial-encoded proteins and RNAs function through interactions with nuclear-encoded proteins, which are critical for mitochondrial performance and eukaryotic fitness. Coevolution maintains inter-genomic (i.e., mitonuclear) compatibility within a taxon, but hybridization can disrupt coevolved interactions, resulting in hybrid breakdown. Thus, mitonuclear incompatibilities may be important mechanisms underlying reproductive isolation and, potentially, speciation. Here we utilize Pool-seq to assess the effects of mitochondrial genotype on nuclear allele frequencies in fast- and slow-developing reciprocal inter-population F2 hybrids between relatively low-divergence populations of the intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus. We show that mitonuclear interactions lead to elevated frequencies of coevolved (i.e., maternal) nuclear alleles on two chromosomes in crosses between populations with 1.5% or 9.6% fixed differences in mitochondrial DNA nucleotide sequence. However, we also find evidence of excess mismatched (i.e., noncoevolved) alleles on three or four chromosomes per cross, respectively, and of allele frequency differences consistent with effects involving only nuclear loci (i.e., unaffected by mitochondrial genotype). Thus, our results for low-divergence crosses suggest an underlying role for mitonuclear interactions in variation in hybrid developmental rate, but despite substantial effects of mitonuclear coevolution on individual chromosomes, no clear bias favoring coevolved interactions overall.

     
    more » « less
  2. Abstract

    For sessile organisms at high risk from climate change, phenotypic plasticity can be critical to rapid acclimation. Epigenetic markers like DNA methylation are hypothesized as mediators of plasticity; methylation is associated with the regulation of gene expression, can change in response to ecological cues, and is a proposed basis for the inheritance of acquired traits. Within reef-building corals, gene-body methylation (gbM) can change in response to ecological stressors. If coral DNA methylation is transmissible across generations, this could potentially facilitate rapid acclimation to environmental change. We investigated methylation heritability in Acropora, a stony reef-building coral. Two Acropora millepora and two Acropora selago adults were crossed, producing eight offspring crosses (four hybrid, two of each species). We used whole-genome bisulfite sequencing to identify methylated loci and allele-specific alignments to quantify per-locus inheritance. If methylation is heritable, differential methylation (DM) between the parents should equal DM between paired offspring alleles at a given locus. We found a mixture of heritable and nonheritable loci, with heritable portions ranging from 44% to 90% among crosses. gBM was more heritable than intergenic methylation, and most loci had a consistent degree of heritability between crosses (i.e. the deviation between parental and offspring DM were of similar magnitude and direction). Our results provide evidence that coral methylation can be inherited but that heritability is heterogenous throughout the genome. Future investigations into this heterogeneity and its phenotypic implications will be important to understanding the potential capability of intergenerational environmental acclimation in reef building corals.

     
    more » « less
  3. Lott, S (Ed.)
    Abstract Males in the parasitoid wasp genus Nasonia have distinct, species-specific, head shapes. The availability of fertile hybrids among the species, along with obligate haploidy of males, facilitates analysis of complex gene interactions in development and evolution. Previous analyses showed that both the divergence in head shape between Nasonia vitripennis and Nasonia giraulti, and the head-specific developmental defects of F2 haploid hybrid males, are governed by multiple changes in networks of interacting genes. Here, we extend our understanding of the gene interactions that affect morphogenesis in male heads. Use of artificial diploid male hybrids shows that alleles mediating developmental defects are recessive, while there are diverse dominance relationships among other head shape traits. At the molecular level, the sex determination locus doublesex plays a major role in male head shape differences, but it is not the only important factor. Introgression of a giraulti region on chromsome 2 reveals a recessive locus that causes completely penetrant head clefting in both males and females in a vitripennis background. Finally, a third species (N. longicornis) was used to investigate the timing of genetic changes related to head morphology, revealing that most changes causing defects arose after the divergence of N. vitripennis from the other species, but prior to the divergence of N. giraulti and N. longicornis from each other. Our results demonstrate that developmental gene networks can be dissected using interspecies crosses in Nasonia, and set the stage for future fine-scale genetic dissection of both head shape and hybrid developmental defects. 
    more » « less
  4. Summary

    Hybrid breeding is the main strategy for improving productivity in many crops, especially in rice and maize. Genomic hybrid breeding is a technology that uses whole‐genome markers to predict future hybrids. Predicted superior hybrids are then field evaluated and released as new hybrid cultivars after their superior performances are confirmed. This will increase the opportunity of selecting true superior hybrids with minimum costs. Here, we used genomic best linear unbiased prediction to perform hybrid performance prediction using an existing rice population of 1495 hybrids. Replicated 10‐fold cross‐validations showed that the prediction abilities on ten agronomic traits ranged from 0.35 to 0.92. Using the 1495 rice hybrids as a training sample, we predicted six agronomic traits of 100 hybrids derived from half diallel crosses involving 21 parents that are different from the parents of the hybrids in the training sample. The prediction abilities were relatively high, varying from 0.54 (yield) to 0.92 (grain length). We concluded that the current population of 1495 hybrids can be used to predict hybrids from seemingly unrelated parents. Eventually, we used this training population to predict all potential hybrids of cytoplasm male sterile lines from 3000 rice varieties from the 3K Rice Genome Project. Using a breeding index combining 10 traits, we identified the top and bottom 200 predicted hybrids. SNP genotypes of the training population and parameters estimated from this training population are available for general uses and further validation in genomic hybrid prediction of all potential hybrids generated from all varieties of rice.

     
    more » « less
  5. Summary

    The ability of plant somatic cells to dedifferentiate, form somatic embryos and regenerate whole plantsin vitrohas been harnessed for both clonal propagation and as a key component of plant genetic engineering systems. Embryogenic culture response is significantly limited, however, by plant genotype in most species. This impedes advancements in both plant transformation‐based functional genomics research and crop improvement efforts. We utilized natural variation among maize inbred lines to genetically map somatic embryo generation potential in tissue culture and identify candidate genes underlying totipotency. Using a series of maize lines derived from crosses involving the culturable parent A188 and the non‐responsive parent B73, we identified a region on chromosome 3 associated with embryogenic culture response and focused on three candidate genes within the region based on genetic position and expression pattern. Two candidate genes showed no effect when ectopically expressed in B73, but the geneWox2awas found to induce somatic embryogenesis and embryogenic callus proliferation. Transgenic B73 cells with strong constitutive expression of the B73 and A188 coding sequences ofWox2awere found to produce somatic embryos at similar frequencies, demonstrating that sufficient expression of either allele could rescue the embryogenic culture phenotype. Transgenic B73 plants were regenerated from the somatic embryos without chemical selection and no pleiotropic effects were observed in theWox2aoverexpression lines in the regenerated T0 plants or in the two independent events which produced T1 progeny. In addition to linking natural variation in tissue culture response toWox2a, our data support the utility ofWox2ain enabling transformation of recalcitrant genotypes.

     
    more » « less