Development and Use of Oat–Maize Chromosome Additions and Radiation Hybrids

Abstract

Hybridization experiments of oat with maize require fastidious coordination of plant cultivation and flowering timing, meticulous crossing techniques, stimulation with plant growth substances, and in vitro rescue and culture of the hybrid embryos. The majority of hybrid offspring gradually lose all maize chromosomes consequently resulting in haploid oat plants. However, a minority of the offspring retain one or more maize chromosome(s) in addition to their haploid oat complements (partial hybrids). Oat haploids and partial hybrids with 1–3 maize chromosomes are partially fertile. Controlled self-fertilization of partial hybrids allows for the production of doubled haploid oat plants with an added single maize chromosome (monosomic addition) or an added pair of homologous maize chromosomes (disomic addition) among the inbred offspring. γ-Irradiation of monosomic oat–maize addition lines can be used to further dissect the maize chromosome in a given line. The lines with identified maize chromosome fragments (radiation hybrids) are the basis for establishing chromosome-specific panels. Although still in the experimental phase, the use of radiation hybrids has been useful and has widened the repertoire of maize genetics and genomics methodology.