Heterosis: Its genetic basis and its utilisation in plant breeding

To discuss the utilisation of heterosis in plant breeding it is necessary to consider its genetic basis. In cross fertilized plants in which the phenomenon of heterosis is very important, such as maize, it appears that a great part can be explained by the mutation load. However in both autogamous or...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Euphytica 1989-01, Vol.39 (2), p.95-104
Main Author: Gallais, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:To discuss the utilisation of heterosis in plant breeding it is necessary to consider its genetic basis. In cross fertilized plants in which the phenomenon of heterosis is very important, such as maize, it appears that a great part can be explained by the mutation load. However in both autogamous or allogamous plants it is difficult to exclude a role of "marginal" overdominance which could justify hybrid variety production. To know in a relatively short time whether it will be better to develop lines or hybrids it is necessary to know the parameters (mean and variance) of the distribution of all varieties of a given type which can be derived from the breeding population. A numerical application allows the determination of the situations where the best single crosses will be better than the best lines.
ISSN:0014-2336