Dissecting the genetic variation of haploid frailty in maize for enhanced doubled haploid breeding.

ABSTRACT: Haploid frailty (HF), the reduced vigour of haploids compared to their diploid counterparts, limits the efficiency of doubled haploid (DH) breeding in maize. This study evaluated 192 BS39 perfect isogenic haploid-diploid pairs across two replications to quantify HF in eight agronomic traits and integrate analyses of HF with haploid fertility, genomic prediction, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Haploids were on average 30-40% shorter in plant and ear height, while traits such as tassel branch number showed minimal or even negative frailty, indicating the presence of naturally vigorous haploids. Heritability was consistently high for diploid (0.8-0.9) and haploid performance (0.7-0.9), but lower for HF (0.1-0.7), reflecting its complexity as a derived trait. Correlation analyses

SUBMITTER: Fakude M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12537748 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature