Deducing hybrid performance from parental metabolic profiles of young primary roots of maize by using a multivariate diallel approach.

ABSTRACT: Heterosis, the greater vigor of hybrids compared to their parents, has been exploited in maize breeding for more than 100 years to produce ever better performing elite hybrids of increased yield. Despite extensive research, the underlying mechanisms shaping the extent of heterosis are not well understood, rendering the process of selecting an optimal set of parental lines tedious. This study is based on a dataset consisting of 112 metabolite levels in young roots of four parental maize inbred lines and their corresponding twelve hybrids, along with the roots' biomass as a heterotic trait. Because the parental biomass is a poor predictor for hybrid biomass, we established a model framework to deduce the biomass of the hybrid from metabolite profiles of its parental lines. In the proposed fr

SUBMITTER: Feher K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3883692 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature