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Evaluation of ZmCCT haplotypes for genetic improvement of maize hybrids

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Abstract

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The elite ZmCCT haplotypes which have no transposable element in the promoter could enhance maize resistance to Gibberella stalk rot and improve yield-related traits, while having no or mild impact on flowering time. Therefore, they are expected to have great value in future maize breeding programs.

Abstract

A CCT domain-containing gene, ZmCCT, is involved in both photoperiod response and stalk rot resistance in maize. At least 15 haplotypes are present at the ZmCCT locus in maize germplasm, whereas only three of them are found in Chinese commercial maize hybrids. Here, we evaluated ZmCCT haplotypes for their potential application in corn breeding. Nine resistant ZmCCT haplotypes that have no CACTA-like transposable element in the promoter were introduced into seven elite maize inbred lines by marker-assisted backcrossing. The resultant 63 converted lines had 0.7-5.1 Mb of resistant ZmCCT donor segments with over 90% recovery rates. All converted lines tested exhibited enhanced resistance to maize stalk rot but varied in photoperiod sensitivity. There was a close correlation between the hybrids and their parental lines with respect to both resistance performance and photoperiod sensitivity. Furthermore, in a given hybrid A5302/83B28, resistant ZmCCT haplotype could largely improve yield-related traits, such as ear length and 100-kernel weight, resulting in enhanced grain yield. Of nine resistant ZmCCT haplotypes, haplotype H5 exhibited excellent performance for both flowering time and stalk rot resistance and is thus expected to have potential value in future maize breeding programs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Chunfang Ji, Lijun Ren, and Guoqing Tan for their assistance in field management. This work was financially supported by the Ministry of Agriculture of China (Grant number 2016ZX08009-003-001) and the key project of Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission (Grant number D16110500060000).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Yipu Li, Lixiu Tong, Lele Deng, Qiyu Liu, Chao Wang, Xiaohong Yang & Mingliang Xu

  2. Maize Research Institute, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Gongzhuling, 136100, Jilin, People’s Republic of China

    Yuexian Xing

  3. State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Baoshen Liu

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  1. Yipu Li
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  2. Lixiu Tong
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  3. Lele Deng
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Correspondence to Mingliang Xu.

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Communicated by Dr. Natalia de Leon.

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Li, Y., Tong, L., Deng, L. et al. Evaluation of ZmCCT haplotypes for genetic improvement of maize hybrids. Theor Appl Genet 130, 2587–2600 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-017-2978-1

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