The Novel ps and ps-2 Specific Markers for Selection of Functional Male Sterile Tomato Lines in Breeding Programs and Hybrids Seed Production

Abstract

Functional male sterility in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), controlled by the ps-2 and ps genes can be utilized in the production of F 1 hybrid tomato seed. Two novel cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers linked to the ps-2 and ps genes were found in tomato. The C4-30 and C2-21 markers were developed based on the conserved ortholog set II (COSII) sequences C2_At3g20020 and C2_At1g65900 located on tomato chromosomes 4 and 2, respectively. The HinfI-derived PCR restriction product C4-30 80 was applicable in the detection of functional male sterile plants. In case of the C2-21 marker, a polymorphism was revealed after digestion of the amplicon with restriction enzyme MboI. Specificity of the DNA markers identified was verified by scoring the tomato parental lines, F 2 progeny and F 1 hybrids, in which maternal lines possessed the ps or ps-2 gene. C4-30 and C2-21 can be used as the diagnostic tools in tomato breeding programs and in F 1 hybrid seed production.