Historical overview of maize breeding and genetic diversity in the genebank of the Maize research Institute „Zemun Polje“
The public Maize research Institute „Zemun Polje“ (MRIZP) was founded in 1945 and combines a scientific institute dedicated to maize research and a market-oriented seed company. Since its early days, MRIZP have a maize breeding program to develop high potential maize hybrids intended for improving maize production in the former Yugoslavia, but also the research laboratories that cover other aspects of maize: cultivation, protection, utilisation, processing, seed production…
Maize is today economically, the most important crop in Serbia and the former-Yugoslavia area. Its introduction in this region was carried out through several waves of introduction, each of which contributed to its genetic diversity. Significant geographical and climatic differences in the region have further influenced the formation of diverse local maize populations, ranging from early maturity flints to late-maturity dents, that were classified into 16 main population groups. These local varieties, together with the imported US inbred lines were used to form the genetic base which led to the creation of first “Zemun Polje” maize hybrids in the 1950s and 1960s.
To better understand the structuration of this genetic diversity, we first genotyped with the Affymetrix Axiom 600k array a panel of 564 inbred lines originating from the “Zemun Polje” gene bank. These inbred lines represented old maize breeding pools from former Yugoslavia and neighbouring South-eastern European countries (SEE). To decipher the originality of this genetic material, we then compared this genetic diversity with a reference dent panel with historical lines dating mostly from the same time period and a worldwide diversity panel that covered main temperate maize genetic groups. Results provided a historical perspective and put SEE inbred lines in a European context.
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