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Manifestation of heterosis during early maize (Zea mays L.) root development

Theoretical and Applied Genetics volume 112, pages 421–429 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Heterosis is typically detected in adult hybrid plants as increased yield or vigor compared to their parental inbred lines. Only little is known about the manifestation of heterosis during early postembryonic development. Objective of this study was to identify heterotic traits during early maize root development. Four German inbred lines of the flint (UH002 and UH005) and dent (UH250 and UH301) pool and the 12 reciprocal hybrids generated from these inbred lines were subjected to a morphological and histological analysis during early root development. Primary root length and width were measured daily in a time course between 3 and 7 days after germination (DAG) and displayed average midparent heterosis (MPH) of 17–25% and 1–7%, respectively. Longitudinal size of cortical cells in primary roots was determined 5 DAG and displayed on average 24% MPH thus demonstrating that enlarged primary roots of hybrids can mainly be attributed to elongated cortical cells. The number of seminal roots determined 14 DAG showed on average 18% MPH. Lateral root density of all tested hybrids was determined 5 DAG. This root trait showed the highest degree of heterosis with an average MPH value of 51%. This study demonstrated that heterosis is already manifesting during the very early stages of root development a few days after germination. The young root system is therefore a suitable model for subsequent molecular studies of the early stages of heterosis manifestation during seedling development.

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Acknowledgement

We thank Dr. A. Melchinger (University of Hohenheim) and his coworkers for providing seeds of the inbred lines and hybrids used in this study, Dr. T. Schrag (University of Hohenheim) for sharing unpublished results ahead of publication, Dr. R. Schröder and Dr. R. Reuter for advice and access to their CLSM, and S. Kugel and D. Middendorf for excellent technical assistance. This project was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) grants HO 1149/6 and PI 377/5 within the framework program “heterosis in plants”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Genetics, Center for Plant Molecular Biology (ZMBP), University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Nadine Hoecker & Frank Hochholdinger

  2. Institute for Crop Production and Grassland Research, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr. 23, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany

    Barbara Keller & Hans-Peter Piepho

Authors
  1. Nadine Hoecker
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  2. Barbara Keller
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  3. Hans-Peter Piepho
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  4. Frank Hochholdinger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frank Hochholdinger.

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Communicated by D. A. Hoisington

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Hoecker, N., Keller, B., Piepho, HP. et al. Manifestation of heterosis during early maize (Zea mays L.) root development. Theor Appl Genet 112, 421–429 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-005-0139-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-005-0139-4

Keywords

  • Lateral Root
  • Primary Root
  • Seminal Root
  • Reciprocal Hybrid
  • Primary Root Length