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Classical and Molecular Concepts of Heterosis

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Plant Breeding

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Abstract

Heterosis has contributed significantly towards increased crop production and it is the basis of multi-billion dollar agri-business in the world. Although extensive studies have been conducted yet the physiological, biochemical and molecular explanation of this phenomenon remains largely unexplained. During 1940s through 1970s, advances made in quantitative genetics led to development of dominance, over-dominance, and epistasis (classical concepts) theories of heterosis. Consequently, breeding strategies led to establishment of heterotic group for hybrid breeding. Despite these successes, plant breeders and geneticists are not able to predict the extent of heterosis. Over the years, several physiological as well as biochemical concepts have been put forward but these are unable to predict heterotic combinations. Molecular marker technologies are now being used to identify and locate heterotic gene blocks which can be incorporated in the selected parental lines to develop heterotic hybrids which result from the mechanisms that are not likely to be captured in an inbred viz., loci with dosage divergence between inbreds, and differential DNA methylation in hybrids vs. inbreds. With the help of transformation technology in future it may also be possible to transfer heterotic chromosome blocks or QTL across species in parental lines. So far, utilization of heterosis has gone ahead of the understanding of this phenomenon, however, in future, use of molecular and transformation tools should increase our understanding of heterosis such that it may lead the path to better utilization of heterosis.

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  1. International Rice Research Institute, Metro Manila, Philippines

    S. S. Virmani & Wei Jun Xu

  2. G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, 263 145, India

    M. P. Pandey & I. S. Singh

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  1. S. S. Virmani
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  2. M. P. Pandey
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  3. I. S. Singh
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  4. Wei Jun Xu
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H K Jain M C Kharkwal

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Virmani, S.S., Pandey, M.P., Singh, I.S., Xu, W.J. (2004). Classical and Molecular Concepts of Heterosis. In: Jain, H.K., Kharkwal, M.C. (eds) Plant Breeding. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1040-5_17

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