Cytogenetic and agronomic characterization of intergeneric hybrids between Saccharum spp. hybrid and Erianthus arundinaceus

Abstract

In sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid) breeding, introgression of useful genes via intergeneric hybridization is a powerful strategy for improving the crop productivity. Erianthus arundinaceus shows great potential in terms of useful traits; however, little is known about the cytogenetic and agronomic characteristics of intergeneric hybrids between these two species. Here, we examine the cytogenetic and agronomic characteristics, and relationships between the two in intergeneric F1 hybrids between modern sugarcane cultivar and E. arundinaceus identified by amplification of 5S rDNA markers and morphological characteristics. The nuclear DNA content of the hybrids varied from 6.07 to 8.94 pg/2C, with intra-clonal variation in DNA content and 5S rDNA sites. Genomic in situ hybridization revealed 53 to 82 chromosomes in the hybrids, with 53 to 56 derived from sugarcane and 1 to 29 from E. arundinaceus. There were significant positive correlations between the number of E. arundinaceus chromosomes and dry matter yield, millable stalk weight, single stalk weight, and stalk diameter, but not sucrose content, reducing sugar content, sucrose/reducing sugar ratio or fiber content. This detailed information on intergeneric F1 hybrids between modern sugarcane cultivar and E. arundinaceus will contribute to effective utilization of E. arundinaceus in sugarcane breeding.

Morphological and genome-wide evidence for natural hybridisation within the genus Stipa (Poaceae)

“…In the grass family (Poaceae) hybridisation and introgression are well studied mainly for economically important plants, such as wheats 17 , 18 , maize 19 , 20 , rice 21 , 22 , barley 23 , 24 , oats 25 , 26 , rye 27 , 28 , sugarcanes 29 , 30 , and sorghums 31 , 32 . Nowadays new molecular markers and technologies that first came to the field of agriculture are becoming widely used in studies of wild populations with little or no previous genomic information.…”

Chromosome behavior during meiosis in pollen mother cells from Saccharum officinarum × Erianthus arundinaceus F1 hybrids

“…Due to F 1 male sterility, F 1 could only be used as the female parent, the offspring material could be obtained through backcrossing, and the chromosome transmission was 2n + n or more than 2n + n, which also made the BC 1 material richer in a variety of resistances and vitalities. E. arundinaceus chromosomes were also lost (28~29) in five hybrids [30]. When these hybrids were crossed with commercial varieties as female parents, the pattern of "2n + n" or more than "2n + n" was seen in BC 1 hybrids, and 23~36 E. arundinaceus chromosomes were present in these plants.…”

“…When these hybrids were crossed with commercial varieties as female parents, the pattern of "2n + n" or more than "2n + n" was seen in BC 1 hybrids, and 23~36 E. arundinaceus chromosomes were present in these plants. The fertility of BC 1 material was restored, and the restoration of the fertility of the offspring helped obtain "noble" hybrids with the advantages of high sugar content, high disease resistance, and strong tillers [30]. In general, low fertility and unbalanced hybridization in offspring were most likely related to abnormal meiosis processes.…”

Efficient anchoring of Erianthus arundinaceus chromatin introgressed into sugarcane by specific molecular markers

“…Hence, sugarcane breeders had been implemented wide hybridization between sugarcane and E. arundinaceus, despite the large genetic distance between sugarcane and E. arundinaceus. More delightfully, subsequent introgression generations had also been obtained in sugarcane breeding programs (Fukuhara et al 2013;Gao et al 2015;Govindaraj et al 2012;Pachakkil et al 2019;Wu et al 2014). Selecting introgression progeny with the best performance as good candidates are of vital importance for introgression breeding.…”

“…Traditionally, cytological methods and molecular markers are widely used to speci cally detect the alien chromosomes and chromosomal segments in putative progeny. Genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) is a powerful cytological tool for identifying the introgression status of alien chromosomes in sugarcane background (Pachakkil et al 2019;Piperidis et al 2010). GISH results of progeny between sugarcane and E. arundinaceus indicated that chromosome transmission was n + n in F 1 , BC 2 , and BC 3 generations, but was 2n+ n in BC 1 generation (Piperidis et al 2010;Wu et al 2014).…”