Institute of Plant Breeding, Seed Science and Population Genetics, University of Hohenheim (350), Fruwirthstrasse 21, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany.
Theor Appl Genet. 2012 Apr;124(6):981-8. doi: 10.1007/s00122-011-1762-x. Epub 2011 Dec 13.
Breeding maize for use as a biogas substrate (biogas maize) has recently gained considerable importance. To optimize hybrid breeding programs, information about line per se performance (LP) of inbreds and its relation to their general combining ability (GCA) is required. The objectives of our research were to (1) estimate variance components and heritability of LP for agronomic and quality traits relevant to biogas production, (2) study correlations among traits as well as between LP and GCA, and (3) discuss implications for breeding of biogas maize. We evaluated 285 diverse dent maize inbred lines in six environments. Data were recorded on agronomic and quality traits, including dry matter yield (DMY), methane fermentation yield (MFY), and their product, methane yield (MY), as the main target trait. In agreement with observations made for GCA in a companion study, variation in MY was mainly determined by DMY. MFY, which showed moderate correlation with lignin but only weak correlation with starch, revealed only low genotypic variation. Thus, our results favor selection of genotypes with high DMY and less focus on ear proportion for biogas maize. Genotypic correlations between LP and GCA [r (g) (LP, GCA)] were highest (≥0.94) for maturity traits (days to silking, dry matter concentration) and moderate (≥0.65) for DMY and MY. Multistage selection is recommended. Selection for GCA of maturity traits, plant height, and to some extent also quality traits and DMY on the level of LP looks promising.
利用玉米生产沼气（沼气玉米）的研究近年来受到了广泛关注。为了优化杂交种选育计划，需要了解自交系本身的表现（LP）及其与一般配合力（GCA）的信息。我们的研究目的是：（1）估计与沼气生产相关的农艺和品质性状的 LP 的方差分量和遗传力；（2）研究性状之间以及 LP 与 GCA 之间的相关性；（3）讨论沼气玉米选育的意义。我们在六个环境中评估了 285 个不同的马齿型玉米自交系。记录了农艺和品质性状的数据，包括干物质产量（DMY）、甲烷发酵产量（MFY）及其乘积甲烷产量（MY），作为主要目标性状。与在一项配套研究中观察到的 GCA 一致，MY 的变化主要由 DMY 决定。MFY 与木质素呈中度相关，与淀粉呈弱相关，其基因型变异较低。因此，我们的结果倾向于选择 DMY 高、穗比例低的基因型用于沼气玉米。LP 与 GCA 的基因型相关系数（r（g）（LP，GCA））在成熟性状（吐丝期、干物质浓度）方面最高（≥0.94），在 DMY 和 MY 方面中等（≥0.65）。建议采用多阶段选择。在 LP 水平上选择成熟性状、株高、在一定程度上还包括品质性状和 DMY 的 GCA 具有良好的前景。
