Molecular strategies to use nuclear male sterility in plant hybrid breeding

摘要

The exploitation of plant het-erosis is an effective approach to increase food production Heterotic hybrid varieties in major crops such as rice, wheat, and cotton can show more than a 20% yield advantage over the best conventional ones under the samecultivation conditions. Difficulties in breeding elite male sterile lines and producing commercial hybrid seed hamper the development of hybrid crops. Nuclear male sterility in plants includes both spontaneous and engineered sterility. Spontaneous nuclear male sterile mutation is a common phenomenon in nature. The frequency of such mutations is high; it is easily induced from ionizing radiation and chemical mutagents.