Teosinte Cytoplasmic Genomes: I. Performance of Maize Inbreds with Teosinte Cytoplasms

Cytoplasmic variation in maize (Zea mays L.) is known to influence qualitative phenotypes such as male sterility and teosinte-cytoplasm-associated miniature. Cytoplasmic influences on quantitative characters such as grain yield have been difficult to document. The objective of this research was to study effects of diverse teosinte cytoplasmic genomes on quantitative agronomic characters in two maize inbreds. Ten diverse cytoplasms derived from three subspecies of Z. mays and one Z. perennis cytoplasm were substituted for the cytoplasms of inbreds A619 and W23 by at least six generations of backcrossing. Inbreds with teosinte cytoplasms were compared with A619 and W23 in a replicated field trial in three environments. Five of the 11 cytoplasms had quantitative influences. Three of these five cytoplasms decreased yield, with one of the cytoplasms reducing yield of the A619 nuclear genotype by 1.07 Mg ha -1 or 20%. Many effects were specific to either the A619 or W23 nuclear background indicating that teosinte cytoplasmic genomes interacted with maize nuclear genomes. Cytoplasmic effects tended to be small and unfavorable in the context of a maize breeding program.