Effect of high and low temperature on male gametophyte viability of waxy maize --Kravchenko, OA, Kravchenko, AN The aim of this study was to reveal the effect of high and low temperature on male gametophyte viability at the pollen germination stage and pollen tube growth stage. Inbred lines 346 and 502 and their waxy counterparts, as well as their MR5 progeny (obtained from irradiated immature embryos in vitro), were taken as experimental material. Fresh collected pollen from each genotype was planted on the nutrient medium (developed by Cook F.S., Walden D.B., Can.J.Bot. 43:779-786) and subjected to low (+12 C, for 6 hours) and high (+35 C, for 20 minutes) temperature treatment. At the same time, pollen of control variants was cultivated in normal (+24 C) temperature conditions. On average, 500-700 pollen grains from each genotype were analyzed to determined pollen viability.

A significant variability of male gametophyte viability among plants of the MR5 generation was found. The reliable effect of genotype and temperature was revealed by two factor analysis of variance (Table 1). Results indicate that pollen viability of MR5 progeny of inbred lines 346 and 502, as well as that of their waxy counterparts, was genotype dependent. It should be noted that pollen viability of MR5 progeny of inbred line 502 was more temperature dependent in comparison with MR5 progeny of other inbred lines. Generally, low and high temperature treatment resulted in a decrease of maize pollen viability. However, among the genotypes under analysis there were some which demonstrated high male gametophyte viability in both low and high temperature conditions.

Table 1. Genotype and temperature effect (%) on male gametophyte viability.
 
 
Factors:
MR5 progeny of inbred lines:
genotype
temperature
their interaction
346+/+
50.12***
7.41***
41.62***
346wx1wx1
55.34***
15.8***
23.57***
502+/+
47.02***
24.6***
26.43***
502wx1wx1
52.31***
17.7***
22.12***

***- P<0.001
 
 

Please Note: Notes submitted to the Maize Genetics Cooperation Newsletter may be cited only with consent of the authors.

Return to the MNL 76 On-Line Index
Return to the Maize Newsletter Index
Return to the MaizeGDB Homepage