Confirmation by Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of a Euplasmic Spring Wheat Expressing a Dominant Male‐Sterility Gene1

Abstract

A dominant male‐sterility gene has had limited utilization in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding partly because appropriate lines have alien (T. tauschii Schmal.) cytoplasm. The dominant allele for male‐sterility was though to have been transferred into a euplasmic (T. aestivum cytoplasm) background, but the cytoplasmic constitution of this line had not been confirmed. Electrophoretic gel patterns of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) a putative euplasmic line which segregates for the dominant male‐sterility allele were compared with gel patterns of mtDNA of known T. aestivum and T. tauschii cytoplasm lines following digestion with the restriction endonucleases PstI, EcoRl, BamHI, Sall, Xhol, and Hindlll. All restriction patterns of the putative euplasmic line verified that the cytoplasm was from T. aestivum. Euplasmic sources of dominant male‐sterility should have greater value than alloplasmic lines for future genetic and breeding studies using this gene.