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Cytogenetics of Introgression from Saccharum into Sorghum 1
Author(s) -
Wet J. M. J.,
Gupta S. C.,
Harlan J. R.,
Grassl C. O.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1976.0011183x001600040035x
Subject(s) - sorghum , biology , saccharum officinarum , selfing , hybrid , backcrossing , saccharum , introgression , sorghum bicolor , ploidy , agronomy , sweet sorghum , botany , genetics , gene , population , demography , sociology
Grain sorghum [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] crosses with sugarcane ( Saccharum officinarum L.) when the latter species is the female parent. These hybrids are male sterile but produce offspring when pollinated with either parent. Four backcrosses, the first and second with diploid (2n=20) and then with tetraploid sorghum (2n=40), produced plants that are male and female fertile even though they combine 40 Sorghum + 4–10 Saccharum chromosomes. Selfing or further backcrossing with sorghum for one or more generations, results in complete elimination of Saccharum chromosomes, and essentially pure or morphologically modified sorghums are recovered. Modified sorghums have various combinations of Saccharum characteristics superimposed on a basic Sorghum morphology. The study was initiated in an attempt to transfer shoot fly resistance from sugarcane to grain sorghum. Whether this aim was achieved is now being investigated.