Prospectives of developing specialty maize germplasm

Abstract

The basis of these researches were the successes recorded at the worldwide and national levels regarding the increase of the protein content in the seeds through pedigree selection, as well as the discoveries in the ̕60s of the last century the biochemical effects of some recessive genes such as opaque2 (o2) and floury2 (fl2). In the homozygous state, these genes determine a floury consistency of the endosperm and modify its chemical composition, causing an increased content of lysine and tryptophan in the seed protein. The research materialized through the creation of isogenic lines and special hybrids, in which genotype were incorporated mutant endosperm genes (o2, fl2, su1, su2, wx1, ae, etc.) that modify the protein and carbohydrate complex in the endosperm.