Development of Apomictic 56-Chromosomal Maize- Hybrids: A Potential Breakthrough in Heterosis Fixation.

Maize ( L.) is one of the most demanded grain crops in the world. Currently, production has exceeded one billion tons and is increasing by 3-5% annually. Such growth is due to the genetic potential of the crop and the use of heterosis F1 hybrids in production. However, the need to produce first-generation seed annually poses significant challenges and is an economically costly technology. A solution to this problem may be the transfer of the asexual (apomictic) mode of reproduction to maize from its wild relative, eastern gamagrass ( L.). In this work, we report the production of 56-chromosome apomictic hybrids of maize ( L.) with eastern gamagrass ( L.) with restored anther fertility. The mode of reproduction of the plant was confirmed by counting chromosomes and sequencing the nuclear gene () and chloroplast tRNA-Leu () gene. These apomictic hybrids had karyotypes of 2n = 56 = [(10Zm(573MB) + 36Td) + 10Zm(611CB)] and 2n = 56 = [(10Zm(611CB) + 36Td) + 10Zm(611CB)]. The resulting hybrids can be widely used as a fodder crop.