METHOD TO MAINTAIN A GENIC MALE-STERILE FEMALE PARENTAL LINES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HYBRID WHEAT

摘要

The present invention provides a method for stably maintaining a genic male-sterile female parental line of bread and durum wheat for the production of hybrid wheat. It also provides a male-sterile female line homozygous for a recessive male sterility allele, and a maintainer line which is readily and stably propagated. The maintainer line is isogenic to the female line but has an alien chromosomal arm, added to the wheat complement, carrying a dominant male-fertility allele that restores fertility to the maintainer line, a heterologous microspore-suicide gene that kills microspores or pollen grains carrying it thereby preventing the transmission of this chromosome arm to the female line, and a heterologous selectable marker that facilitates the selection of maintainer plants among the progeny of the selfed maintainer line and thus, maintenance of the maintainer itself.