Changes of genetic diversity of maize inbred lines over four decades of hybrid breeding in the Bc institute revealed by SSR markers

Abstract

In this paper, changes of genetic diversity of the most important maize inbred lines used for hybrid production within the Bc Institute in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s were examined using the SSR markers. The average number of alleles per SSR locus was 3.14, 3.43, 3.07 and 3.25 for lines from 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, whereas the number of private alleles for the same four decades was 8, 4, 0 and 6, respectively. Mean genetic distance among inbreds within decades steadily decreased over time from 0.64 in 1970s to 0.57 in 2000s, but the observed differences were not statistically significant. The clustering of the studied inbred lines indicates the exploitation of a known BSSS x LSC heterotic pattern within the Bc Institute maize breeding program. The overall results show that recycled inbred lines within these pools do not decline in genetic variation over the past 40 years.