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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Breeding
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1429901

Genetic diversity, relationships among traits and selection of tropical maize inbred lines for low-P tolerance based on root and shoot traits at seedling stage

Provisionally accepted
Andreia Schuster Andreia Schuster 1Alice S. Santana Alice S. Santana 1Alison Uberti Alison Uberti 2Fabíola d. Dias Fabíola d. Dias 3Helber M. dos Reis Helber M. dos Reis 4Vidomar Destro Vidomar Destro 1Rodrigo O. DeLima Rodrigo O. DeLima 1*
  • 1 Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil
  • 2 Tropical Genetics and TMG Breeding, Sorriso, Brazil
  • 3 Syngenta (Brazil), Holambra, Brazil
  • 4 Independent researcher, Petrolina, Brazil

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The tropical maize breeding for low-P tolerance and good performance under low-P stress environments can be achieved through selection based on root morphology traits at seedling stage. Here, we assessed the genotypic variation and genetic diversity of a panel of 151 tropical maize inbred lines for root and shoot seedling traits, investigated the relationship among traits and selected a set of promising inbred lines for low-P tolerance and performance. We evaluated the inbred lines at seedling stage in a greenhouse experiment under two conditions: applied P (AP) and non-applied P (NAP). A mixed model approach was used to estimate variance components and predict the genotypic values of each inbred line. The genetic diversity among inbred lines based on root and shoot traits was assessed, and correlations were estimated between tested traits under AP and NAP. Our panel of inbred lines showed huge genetic variability for all traits and presented large genetic diversity under both P conditions. Variance components due to the inbred line × P condition interaction were also highly significant (P < 0.01) for all traits. Root dry weight (RDW) was positively associated with stalk dimeter (SD), shoot dry weight (SDW) and root length, volume, and area under both P conditions. Also, the SD and SDW were associated with most root traits under AP. Based on low-P tolerance and performance indices, we selected a set of top 20 inbred lines to be used in our maize breeding program. We therefore concluded that there is a significant genetic diversity in the tropical maize inbred lines which have the genetic potential to be use in association mapping studies and also to develop improved low-P tolerant and P-efficient hybrids and maize breeding populations for low-P stress environments.

    Keywords: Zea mays, abiotic stress, Selection index, Tropical environments, Maize germplasm, Breeding strategies

    Received: 08 May 2024; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Schuster, Santana, Uberti, Dias, dos Reis, Destro and DeLima. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Rodrigo O. DeLima, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.