Genetic diversity among plants of non-transgenic and transgenic versions of a single cross maize hybrid

Abstract Previous studies have documented that transgene introduction may alter the phenotypic expression of several traits (e.g., biomass production, grain yield). We hypothesized that genetic diversity could influence the phenotypic variation among hybrids of a same genetic background and also among plants of a hybrid. The objectives of this preliminary study were: (i) to quantify the genetic diversity between the non-transgenic (DK747) and transgenic versions (DK747MG, DK747RR and DK747MGRR) of a single-cross maize hybrid and among plants of each version, (ii) to observe the distribution of genetic diversity along the genome and (iii) to explore relationships between phenotypic variability and genetic diversity. Hybrids were cultivated at field conditions during two growing seasons and plants of each hybrid with high, intermediate and low biomass at physiological maturity were selected to perform a study of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). Genetic diversity among plants of each version was greater than among versions and both sources of variation were significant ( Φ ST  = 0.45, P