Interaction and gene association and dispersion in diallel crosses where gene frequencies are unequal

Theory and analysis of partial diallel crosses

This study presents theory and analysis of partial diallel crosses based on Hayman's methods. This genetic design consists of crosses among two parental groups. It should be used when there are two groups of parents, for example, dent and flint maize inbred lines, and the breeder is not interested in the assessment of crosses between parents of the same group. Analyses are carried out using data from the parents and their F1 hybrids allowing a detailed characterization of the polygenic systems under study and the choice of parents for hybridization. Diallel analysis allows the estimation of genetic and non-genetic components of variation and genetic parameters and to assess the following: genetic variability in each group; genotypic differences between parents of distinct groups; if a parent has a common or a rare genotype in the group to which it does not belong; if there is dominance; if dominant genes increase or decrease trait expression (direction of dominance); average degree of dominance in each group; the relative importance of mean effects of genes and dominance in determining a trait; if, in each group, the allelic genes have the same frequency; if genes are equally frequent in the two groups; the group with the greatest frequency of favorable genes; the group in which dominant genes are most frequent; the relative number of dominant and recessive genes in each parent; if a parent has a common or a rare genotype in the group to which it belongs, and the genotypic differences between parents of the same group. An example with common bean varieties is considered.

Genetic analysis of photosynthesis and productivity in corn

The genetic relationships among different inbred stocks of corn with respect to different indices of photosynthetic efficiency and plant productivity was assessed by means of diallel graphs. The salient feature of the current study was "apparent overdominance" for some important indices of photosynthetic efficiency, viz. photosynthetic rate/unit leaf area (at the silking stage), total chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a content, as well as for total dry matter production and economic yield. The results could be explained in terms of complementary gene action and the multiplicative effects of the sub-components that comprise these traits. However, complete dominance was recorded for photosynthetic rate (at the grain filling period), leaf area/plant, number of leaves/plant, number of leaves above the ear, ratio of chlorophyll a/b and harvest index. In the majority of cases graphic analysis was possible only when a number of epistatic parents were omitted from the analysis. Although the position of the array points for different indices of photosynthetic efficiency was consistent across the years, the ontogenetic and seasonal differences in the genetic behaviour of parents, meaning thereby, different loci being active at different stages and seasons, was apparent. The same was true for the epistatic parents. Non-allelic interaction of the genes rather than the non-random distribution of the genes among the parents seemed to be the most common cause of disturbance in the Wr/Vr relationship.Inbred stock MG 115 was identified to be the most promising because it embodied an efficient photosynthetic machinery by virtue of increasing the number of alleles for a majority of the indices of photosynthetic efficiency, thereby enabling it to register the highest biological productivity and economic yield. Further, inbred stocks MG 138, MG 121, and MG 125 were also promising for different photosynthetic parameters.

Diallel analysis of submergence tolerance in rice, Oryza sativa L

The genetics of submergence tolerance in rice was studied in a 10 × 10 half-diallel cross set involving 10 lowland rice varieties, four of which were tolerant ('FR13A', 'FR43B', 'Kurkaruppan', and 'Goda Heenati') and the remaining six were nontolerant ('RD19', 'IR42', 'IR17494-32-1', 'IR19672-24-3', 'Jagannath', and 'CR1009'). Estimates of genetic parameters following Hayman's method showed significant additive and nonadditive gene action and the latter appeared to be solely due to dominance. Narrow sense heritability (0.70) indicated that additive gene effects were more important in the inheritance of the trait. Tolerance was dominant over nontolerance and the average dominance was within the range of incomplete dominance. Dominant alleles were more concentrated in the three tolerant parents, 'FR13A', 'Kurkaruppan', and 'FR43B' in that order. Wr/Vr graphic analysis suggested the involvement of both major and minor genes. Combining ability analysis by Griffing's method also indicated significance of both additive and nonadditive effects, and the former appeared to be more important than the latter. The hybrids involving 'FR13A' with 'RD19', 'IR42', and 'IR17494-32-1', and those of 'Kurkaruppan' with RD19' and 'CR1009' appeared to be promising for incorporating an adequate level of tolerance to submergence into lowland rice cultivars.

Diallel analysis of heading date in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The genetics of heading date was investigated in an 8×8 diallel set of crosses involving diverse rice cultivars. Wr, Vr graph analysis revealed the presence of a complementary type of non-allelic interaction which apparently affected the position and slope of the regression line such as if there were overdominance. Omission of two interacting parents resulted in a 6×6 subset of diallel crosses from which, as observed in the Wr, Vr graph, the non-allelic interaction had disappeared and the regression line exhibited partial dominance. Estimates of the genetic components of variation were in close conformity with the results obtained from the Wr, Vr graph: the average degree of dominance, as measured by (H1/D)(1/2), was in overdominance range in the interacting 8×8 set of diallel crosses whereas it was reduced to partial dominance in the non-interacting 6×6 set of crosses. Further analysis by a standardized deviations graph indicated that earliness was controlled, on the average, by an excess of dominant alleles.

Doubled haploids for estimating genetic variances in presence of linkage and gene association

The effect of gene association (or dispersion) and linkage on the estimation of genetic variances in a diallel experiment involving doubled haploid lines is evaluated. It is shown that the estimates of the additive and the additive X additive genetic variances, as obtained by Choo et al. (1979), are biased if genes are linked or are not independently distributed in the parents. However, this bias only occurs in the presence of interaction between homozygous loci. Gene association (or dispersion) and linkage, if present, can be detected by comparing the parental vs the crosses mean, the parental vs the doubled haploid lines variance, and the among vs the within crosses variance.