QTL for insect resistance and drought tolerance in tropical maize: prospects for marker assisted selection
Hoisington, D.; Jiang, C.; Khairallah, M.; Ribaut, J.M.; Bohn, M.; Melchinger, A.; Willcox, M.; González-de-León, D.
Symposia of the Society for Experimental Biology 50: 39-44
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0081-1386 PMID: 9039433 Document Number: 459528
Recent successes in identifying quantitative trait loci (QTL) in several plant species using various molecular marker systems offer an alternative to conventional breeding for accelerating pest and drought resistance improvement programmes. As the first step towards using molecular markers in CIMMYT's maize breeding programme, restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) have been used to understand the genetic basis of resistance to two corn borer species, southwestern corn borer (Diatraea grandiosella) and sugarcane borer (D. saccharalis), and to one major component of drought tolerance, anthesis silking interval. A number of QTL with effects large enough to be regarded as significant in breeding were detected for each of these traits and many of them presented stable effects over environments. While variability in the number and location of QTL was found when compared across populations, several loci were quite consistent. Simple calculations estimated that the total genetic potential in maize for these traits is high. It is argued that to ultimately access and manipulate this potential, the use of linked molecular markers as indirect selectable markers is both feasible and necessary.