Journal Article

Conversion of elite bread wheat cultivars HD3086 and HD2932 into cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines and their genetic assessment to develop CMS-based hybrids

M, Niranjana, Sharma, Hemant, Jha, Shailendra Kumar, Mallick, Niharika, Kumar, Parvesh, Meena, Braj Kishore, Mallikarjuna, Mallana Gowdra, Malik, Abhimanyu Singh, Chand, Gulab, Sharma, Nand Kishor, Vinod

2025

Overview

Background Wheat plays a pivotal role in global food and nutritional security. To meet the growing demand for food, increasing wheat production through hybrid development remains an untapped avenue. However, the autogamy of wheat causes a significant challenge for hybrid development. Results The present study aimed to convert the elite bread wheat cultivars HD3086 and HD2932 into a cytoplasmic male-sterile (CMS) lines using the CMS donor parent (A-GW365) through a backcross breeding approach. Background analysis using 152 and 145 SSR markers confirmed ˃95% recovery of recurrent parent genomes (RPG) of the HD3086 and HD2932, respectively. The newly developed CMS lines were evaluated for pollen sterility and phenotypic similarity in comparison to recurrent parents. The cytological study and DUS characterisation of the converted A lines revealed complete sterility and similarity with the recurrent parent for morphological and agronomic traits. Further, two converted A lines, A-HD3086 and A-HD2932 and donor A line A-GW365 were crossed with six newly developed fertility restorer lines (R lines) in a line × tester breeding design. Combining ability analysis revealed positive general combining ability (GCA) for A-HD3086 and 955R across the three trials, and they were identified as the best tester and line, respectively, for grain yield. Furthermore, the genotype × environment interaction analysed through GGE biplot revealed that hybrids G1 (A-HD3086 × 908-3R), G2 (A-HD3086 × 917R), G4 (A-HD3086 × 955R), and G12 (A-GW365 × 1752R) were high-yielding and stable performers. Based on combining ability estimates, grain yield performance, and stability analysis, hybrids G4 (A-HD3086 × 955R) and G12 (A-GW365 × 1752R) were identified as the best-performing hybrids across the environmental trials. Conclusions The present study reported the conversion of agronomically superior cultivars to CMS lines and their practical utilization for the development of CMS-based hybrids.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,BMC
• Subject: Agriculture / autogamy / backcrossing / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Botanical research / Combining ability analysis / Cultivars / Cytoplasmic male sterility / Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) / food security / Genetic aspects / genome / genotype-environment interaction / Grain yield / Hybrid breeding / Hybridization, Genetic / hybrids / Life Sciences / phenotype / Physiological aspects / Plant Breeding / Plant genetics / Plant Infertility - genetics / Plant Sciences / pollen / Tree Biology / Triticum - genetics / Triticum - physiology / Wheat