Abstract
BackgroundSprague and Tatum (1942) introduced the concepts of general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) to evaluate the breeding parents and F1 hybrid performance, respectively. Since then, the GCA was widely used in cross breeding for elite parent selection. However, the molecular basis of GCA remains to unknown.ResultsWe studied the transcriptomes of three varieties and three F1 hybrids using RNA-Sequencing. Transcriptome sequence analysis revealed that the transcriptome profiles of the F1s were similar to the positive GCA-effect parent. Moreover, the expression levels of most differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were equal to the parent with a positive GCA effect. Analysis of the gene expression patterns of gibberellic acid (GA) and flowering time pathways that determine plant height and flowering time in rice validated the preferential transcriptome expression of the parents with positive GCA effect. Furthermore, H3K36me3 modification bias in the Pseudo-Response Regulators (PRR) gene family was observed in the positive GCA effect parents and demonstrated that the phenotype and transcriptome bias in the positive GCA effect parents have been epigenetically regulated by either global modification or specific signaling pathways in rice.ConclusionsThe results revealed that the transcriptome profiles and DEGs in the F1s were highly related to phenotype bias to the positive GCA-effect parent. The transcriptome bias toward high GCA parents in F1 hybrids attributed to H3K36me3 modification both on global modification level and specific signaling pathways. Our results indicated the transcriptome profile and epigenetic modification level bias to high GCA parents could be the molecular basis of GCA.
Highlights
Sprague and Tatum (1942) introduced the concepts of general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) to evaluate the breeding parents and F1 hybrid performance, respectively
The results revealed that the GCA scores for the two rice varieties 93–11 and TQ were positive, whereas negative GCA scores were observed for the varieties Guangluai 4# (GL), Zhenshan 97 (ZS) and AJ (Figure 1D)
The parental phenotypes were significantly correlated with the F1 hybrids crossed to 93–11 and TQ (r > 0.97, P < 3.80E-07) but less significantly with the F1 hybrids resulting from crosses to GL, ZS and AJ (r = 0.81, P < 1.33E-03) (Table 1)
Summary
Sprague and Tatum (1942) introduced the concepts of general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) to evaluate the breeding parents and F1 hybrid performance, respectively. The selection of parents from a phalanx of inbred lines, is extremely laborious and time-consuming and can be random. Adding to this complexity, parents with excellent agronomic traits do not always pass those traits on to their progeny. Sprague and Tatum (1942) introduced the concepts of general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA), which allow the study and comparison of the performances of inbred lines in hybrid combination. GCA and SCA effects have been successfully used as criteria to evaluate elite parents in conventional crossbreeding and the performance of hybrid combinations
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