Breeding Organic Corn varieties to resist GMO contamination

Breeding Organic Corn varieties to resist GMO contamination

Summary

Adapted elite white and yellow grain parental lines of corn were crossed to lines carrying the cross-sterile gene (GA1-S). Seed of the cross and the parental line was grown in a winter nursery in Florida to backcross to the parental line.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Cross sterility maize lines MO501, MO502, MO506, MO508, and MO511 were obtained from the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station and planted in the summer nursery at Knoxville, TN. The following crosses were made between elite Tennessee parent corn lines and cross sterility lines:
1. T175 x MO502
2. T175 x MO511
3. T177 x MO501
4. T177 x MO506
5. T177 x MO508
6. T274 x MO501
7. T274 x MO506
8. T274 x MO508
9. T276 x MO502

Seed from these crosses was grown in a winter nursery in Homestead, FL, and the following backcrosses to the recurrent Tennessee parent line were made:

1: T175 x (T175xMO502)
2. T175 x (T175xMO511)
3. T177 x (T177xMO501)
4. T177 x (T177xMO506)
5. T177 x (T177xMO508)
6. T274 x (T274xMO501)
7. T274 x (T274xMO506)
8. T274 x (T274xMO508)
9. T276 x (T276xMO502)

Accomplishments/Milestones

Crosses and backcrosses to the recurrent parent have been completed, producing lines with 75% adapted recurrent parent genes and the cross sterility gene. The second backcross will be completed in the summer nursery in Knoxville, TN, during the 2013 growing season. Seed from this backcross will be grown in a winter nursery in FL to complete the third backcross. Seed from this backcross will then be self pollinated to select lines that are homozygous for the cross sterility gene with 93.75 % recurrent parent genes. These lines will then be crossed to produce experimental hybrids for field testing.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Successful completion of this research will result in white and yellow grained maize hybrids that cannot be pollinated by genetically modified (GMO) maize hybrids grown in adjacent or the same field. This will prevent loss of income from “adventitious presence” of GMO grain in field planted to non-GMO cross sterility maize hybrids.

Collaborators: