Elimination of Chromosomes as a Mechanism for the Formation of Diploid Plants in Diploid–Tetraploid Crosses in Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.)

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One of the main components of apomictic plant reproduction is the formation of unreduced embryo sacs (ESs). Heteroploid crosses, in which maternal diploid plants are pollinated by pollen of tetraploid paternal parent, can be used as an effective tool for identifying the ability to form unreduced ESs. In maize, in crosses 2n(♀) × 4n(♂), as a rule, shrunken kernels with a triploid embryo are formed, in which the development of the endosperm is impaired due to the deviation of the balance of the maternal (m) to paternal (p) genomes from the ratio of 2m : 1p. In our experiments, in several diploid maize lines, after their pollination with tetraploid pollen, the formation of large plump kernels was observed, from which diploid maternal-type plants developed, the maternal-type phenotype, as well as the hybrid endosperm phenotype, were confirmed by the expression of genetic markers. It has been suggested that the plump kernels in 2n × 4n crosses arise on the basis of unreduced embryo sacs (ESs) and pseudogamous apomixis, since the fusion of diploid sperms with diploid polar nuclei provides a 2 : 1 ratio of maternal to paternal genomes in the endosperm. In order to clarify the genetic nature of diploid plants phenotypically similar to maternal lines that developed from plump kernels in 2n × 4n crosses, we carried out their genotyping for all 10 chromosomes of the maize genome using polymorphic codominant SSR- and Indel-markers that differentiate the paternal line from maternal lines. As maternal lines, we used HPL AT, which has the ability to haploid parthenogenesis, KM, YuV-11, as well as the F2 B47/HPL AT hybrid plants; and as a paternal line – Chernaya Tetra(4n). It was found that in all the plants studied, when markers of five chromosomes (1, 2, 3, 4, and 9) were used, amplification of only maternal alleles was observed. However, in each of the studied plant, when using markers of other chromosomes, cases of amplification of alleles characteristic of the paternal line were noted. A hypothesis is put forward on the formation of diploid plants in 2n × 4n crosses in maize as a result of fertilization of the unreduced ESs and the subsequent elimination of chromosomes, predominantly of the pollen parent.