玉米是最早利用细胞质雄性不育系生产杂交种的作物之一,C型细胞质雄性不育系（C-type cytoplasmic male sterile, CMS-C）在杂交种生产中具有重要的作用,育性恢复的稳定性直接影响其应用价值。然而,玉米CMS-C的育性恢复机理复杂,且至今仍不明确。为进一步探究玉米CMS-C育性恢复的影响因素,本研究以玉米CMS-C同质异核不育系C48-2、C黄早四和C478为母本,分别与测验系18白、自330、5022以及恢复系A619组配杂交获得F₁。其中育性恢复F₁通过自交获得F₂,并以育性恢复F₁为父本分别给育性保持F₁授粉,组配双交群体,共获得4个F₂群体,6个双交群体。同时以不育系C48-2、C黄早四和C478为母本,各自的保持系48-2、黄早四和478为父本杂交组配不完全双列杂交F₁。将所有杂交组合的F₁、F₂以及双交组合群体分别在不同年份不同地点种植观察,通过植株田间育性调查并结合室内花粉镜检鉴定育性表现。结果表明：1) 同一测验系对玉米CMS-C同质异核不育系的恢保关系不同,暗示不育系的核背景参与调控育性恢复表现;2) 在不同年份不同地点对(C48-2×A619) F₂群体进行种植观察,发现不同环境下F₂群体可育株与不育株的分离比均符合15∶1,但在云南种植的可育株的育性级别主要为Ⅲ和Ⅳ级,而在四川种植的可育株的育性级别主要为Ⅴ级,表明环境对恢复系A619恢复后代的育性表现有影响;3) 通过恢保关系测定发现18白不能恢复C478,48-2也不能恢复C478,但双交群体[(C478×18白) F_1S×(C48-2×18白) F_1F]后代却出现了可育株与不育株的分离;同理,双交群体[(C48-2×自330) F_1S×(C478×自330) F_1F]的后代也出现了可育株与不育株的分离。因此,本文推测C48-2、C478核背景中存在微效恢复基因,这些微效基因与18白、自330中的微效恢复基因通过杂交聚合后能使C478、C48-2的育性恢复,暗示玉米CMS-C的育性恢复呈现一定的剂量效应。这些结果为进一步认识玉米CMS-C育性恢复的复杂性和多样性奠定了基础,为深入研究玉米CMS-C育性恢复机理以及加快CMS-C在不育化制种中的应用提供重要参考。

Maize is one of the first crops to produce hybrids using cytoplasmic male sterile lines. The C-type cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS-C) line is vital for hybrid seed production, and the fertility-restoration reaction along with its stability has a direct bearing on its applications. However, fertility restoration mechanism of CMS-C is complex and is still not clear so far. To further explore the factors affecting the fertility restoration of maize CMS, a series of test crosses were carried out by pollinating the isocytoplasm allonuclear CMS-C lines C48-2, Chuangzaosi and C478 with the test lines 18 bai, zi 330, 5022 and the restorer line A619, respectively. Four F₂ populations and six double-cross combinations were obtained from the self-cross of fertility restored F₁ and pollinating male-sterility-maintained F₁ with the male-fertility-restored F₁, respectively. Meanwhile, we developed the incomplete diallel-cross combinations using the isocytoplasm allonuclear male sterile lines as maternal parents and their respective maintainer lines 48-2, huangzaosi and 478 as paternal parents. All the F₁, F₂ and double-cross populations were planted at distinct locations in different years, and the fertility-restoration reaction was scored by field investigation and pollen staining with I₂-IK. The results were as follows: 1) The same test line could restore the CMS-C line at a certain genetic background, but failed to restore the CMS-C line at the other genetic backgrounds, suggesting that the genetic background of CMS-C lines plays an important role in the fertility restoration. 2) The fertile-to-sterile segregation ratio of (C48-2×A619) F₂ population planted in both Sichuan and Yunnan fited well to 15∶1 by the χ ² test. However, the fertility level of individuals in Yunnan mainly belonged to the Ⅲ and Ⅳgrades, but which in Sichuan mainly belonged to the Ⅴ grade, indicating the environmental factors had effect on the fertility-restoration reaction of (C48-2×A619) F₂. 3) In our study, 18 bai could not restore C478, and 48-2 could not restore C478, but the fertile and sterile segregated plants were unexpectedly found in their double-cross population [(C478×18 bai) F_1S×(C48-2×18 bai) F_1F]. The similar case was also observed in the double-cross population [(C48-2 × zi 330) F_1S × (C478 × zi 330) F_1F]. Therefore, we speculated that there are minor fertility restorer genes not only in the nuclear background of C48-2 and C478, but also in zi 330 and 18 bai, and when these minor genes were gathered by hybridization, they could restore the fertility of C478 and C48-2. This conforms to the restorer genes dose-effect for fertility restoration in the plant CMS system. These results not only contribute to our understanding of the complexity and diversity of CMS-C restoration mechanism, but also provide an important reference for the practical applications about maize CMS-C.