| Reciprocal maintainer-restorer relationship between
A and B lines of bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Jagveer S. SINDHU Crop Science Department, University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Sask., Canada Cytoplasmic genetic male sterility and fertility restoration systems in wheat present a unique opportunity for studying interaction of plasma genes with the nuclear genes. The male sterility factors located in cytoplasm and the presence or absence of fertility restorer genes in the nucleus of a given species are expected to exhibit specific interaction. Besides Triticum timopheevi, which has been considered as the best source of male sterile cytoplasm and the fertility resoring genes, reports indicate that nucleus of common wheat (Triticum aestivum) also restorcs pollen fertility of some male sterile lines (JOPPA & MCNEAL 1969, TAHIR 1969, MIRI, AMAWATE & JAIN 1970). These reports suggest the possibility of a reciprocal maintainer-restorer mechanism in wheat, which could be of considerable importance in broadening the genetic base of the hybrids. In this study efforts were made to investigate the possibility of such a mechanism in bread wheat. Materials and Methods The material for this study comprised 11 male sterile lines (A-lines) with T. timopheevi and Aegilops ovata cytoplasm in the genomic background of bread wheat (T. aestivum) and an equal number of maintainer lines (B-lines) with genome and also cytoplasm from T. aestivum (Table 1). Maintainers of these lines were crossed with the male sterile lines in all possible combination. The F1's were raised in the subsequent growing season and the spikes were selfed at the emergence stage. Seed set in the selfed heads indicated the possibility of fertility restoring gene(s) in the maintainer line. |
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