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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Crop Protection and Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #111613
Title: USE OF MARKERS FOR MAIZE SILK ANTIBIOTIC POLYPHENOL COMPOUNDS TO IMPROVE RESISTANCE TO CORN EARWORM

Author
item BUTRON, A - SPANISH MINISTRY OF EDUC.
item Guo, Baozhu
item WIDSTROM, NEIL
item SNOOK, MAURICE - USDA-ARS (RETIRED)
item LYNCH, ROBERT

Submitted to: Recent Research Developments in Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: Butron, A.M., Guo, B., Widstrom, N.W., Snook, M.E., Lynch, R.E. 2000. Use of markers for maize silk antibiotic polyphenol compounds to improve resistance to corn earworm. Recent Research Developments in Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 4:193-201.

Interpretive Summary: Host-plant resistance to ear-feeding insects has been identified and characterized as largely due to high maysin in the silks. Insects of corn earworm damage corn crop worldwide by directly consuming kernels and by introducing ear-rotting fungi such as Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium moniliforme that may result in mycotoxin contamination. Maysin, a C-glycosyl flavone, and related compounds that inhibit corn earworm larval growth were isolated from corn silks. Evaluation, selection of germplasms with high silk maysin, and transfer to other lines are needed for controlling corn earworm damage in commercial hybrids. The RFLP technology provides a powerful tool for dissection of quantitatively inherited traits. Molecular marker-assisted selection can overcome the difficulties of conventional breeding. We demonstrated that high maysin individual plants could be selected from a population of recombinant inbreds by RFLP marker-aided selection.

Technical Abstract: Silk antibiotic compounds against corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea Boddie) larvae are synthesized through the phenylpropanoid-flavonoid pathway. Several steps in this pathway have been well characterized, which could facilitate the determination of QTLs for antibiotic compounds, and increase our understanding of the genetic mechanisms involved in quantitative traits. We now have sufficient information to initiate a molecular breeding program for improvement of maize resistance to corn earworm via marker-assisted selection. However, future efforts should be focused on screening QTLs in a wide range of germplasm and conversion of RFLP-markers into PCR-based markers.