The present invention belongs to the field of biotechnology, in particular to a hybrid breeding method for maize, which comprises sterile line reproduction and hybrid seed production, and more particularly to plant FL1 gene or alleles thereof, as well as mutant plants produced by the variation of the gene.

The present invention relates to non-transgenic and transgenic plants, preferably crop plants, having biological activity of a haploid inducer and comprising a polynucleotide which comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a centromer histone H3 (CENH3) protein, wherein the polynucleotide comprises at least one mutation causing an alteration of the amino acid sequence of the CENH3 protein, and to a part of the part. Further, the invention provides methods of generating the inducer plants, methods of generating haploid and double haploid plants using the inducer plants as well as methods of facilitating cytoplasm exchange.

The present disclosure provides a method for selecting a plant comprising a functional restorer gene for maize S-type cytoplasmic male sterility comprising the steps of (a) screening a population of plants for at least one marker nucleic acid, wherein the marker nucleic acid comprises an allele linked to the functional restorer gene for maize S-type cytoplasmic male sterility; (b) detecting the marker nucleic acid; (c) identifying a plant comprising the marker nucleic acid; and (d) selecting the plant comprising the marker nucleic acid, wherein the plant comprising the marker nucleic acid further comprises the functional restorer gene for maize S-type cytoplasmic male sterility. The present disclosure also provides methods for restoring fertility in a progeny of an S-type cytoplasmic male sterile plant and methods for transferring an Rf3 gene into a progeny plant.

A newly identified protein that is encoded by a polynucleotide sequence associated with cytoplasmic male sterility restorer activity (Rf3) is described. The cytoplasmic male sterility restorer gene can be inserted through breeding introgression into plant genomes to restore cytoplasmic male sterility in plants. Further applications of the newly identified polynucleotide sequence associated with cytoplasmic male sterility restorer activity include a mutation (rf3) which results in cytoplasmic male sterility. The cytoplasmic male sterility restorer gene can be inserted through breeding introgression into plant genomes to result in cytoplasmic male sterility in plants. Methods for detecting the cytoplasmic male sterility restorer (Rf3) and the cytoplasmic male sterility (rf3) gene sequences are further described.

The present invention provides methods and compositions for producing elite lines of corn exhibiting reduced tassel skeletonization severity (TSS). Also provided in the present invention are corn plants exhibiting reduced TSS resulting from such methods, and methods for breeding corn such that the reduced tassel skeletonization traits may be transferred to a desired genetic background.

This disclosure concerns methods and compositions for identifying sunflower plants that have a low palmitic acid content phenotype. Some embodiments concern molecular markers to identify, select, and/or construct low palmitic acid content plants and germplasm, or to identify and counter-select relatively high palmitic acid content plants. This disclosure also concerns sunflower plants comprising a low palmitic acid content phenotype that are generated by methods utilizing at least one marker described herein.

A method for breeding polyploid two-line hybrid rice includes determining a tetraploid rice photo thermosensitive genic male sterile line with the gene characteristic of PMeS (polyploid meiosis stability) and a tetraploid rice restoring line with the gene characteristic of PMeS; hybridizing and matching by indica sterile/japonica restoring or japonica sterile/indica restoring hybrid combination; preparing a tetraploid rice hybrid by adopting a tetraploid rice photo thermosensitive genic male sterile line and a tetraploid rice restoring line; and breeding a stable tetraploid rice hybrid combination which is determined as the polyploid two-line hybrid rice combination. The breeding method disclosed by the present invention utilizes the strong heterosis of polyploid rice, and transforms the existing diploid heterosis into the heterosis of polyploid two-line hybrid rice; and by adopting the method disclosed by the present invention, a new polyploid two-line hybrid rice variety with large ears, large grains and high yield can be bred.

A breeding method of a polyploid rice photo-thermo-sensitive genetic male sterile line includes determining a diploid rice line with photo-thermo-sensitive genetic male sterility or PMeS characteristic as a parent; carrying out hybridization on a diploid photo-thermo-sensitive genetic male sterile line and a diploid PMeS gene line, carrying out doubling culture on a young ear of a hybrid plant into a hybrid tetraploid; back-crossing the hybrid tetraploid with a tetraploid photo-thermo-sensitive genetic male sterile line; selecting a tetraploid male sterile plants from the back-crossed progeny, self-crossing during a low-temperature and short-day fertile period, and then carrying out composite hybridization with another tetraploid rice line having PMeS gene; selecting tetraploid male sterile plants, and detecting the stability of tetraploid male sterile plants after multiple generations of continuous self-crossing; and determining the stable and consistent tetraploid rice sterile line as the polyploid rice photo-thermo-sensitive genetic male sterile line, named as PSXXX.

A breeding method of a polyploid rice two-line restorer line includes determining hybrid parents for breeding the restorer line; breeding a restorer line of an indica sterile/japonica restorer type, or breeding a restorer line of a japonica sterile/indica restorer type, and carrying out backcrossing or composite hybridization after hybridization of the parents; selecting a single plant that meets the breeding goal, carrying out composite hybridization again and carrying out preliminary molecular marker detection; comparing, and selecting a single plant with good traits for continuous selfing until the line is basically stable; selecting a stable line with good traits and detection molecular markers; carrying out test-crossing on the preferred line as a male parent with different types of polyploid sterile lines; and selecting a good hybrid combination and a restorer line thereof.

Provided area male sterility maintainer line plant, a method for producing the male sterility maintainer line plant, and use of said plant for propagating a male sterility line plant and the male sterility maintainer line plant. In addition, a nucleic acid molecule, a vector, and a host cell for producing the male sterility maintainer line plant are provided.