INTERGENERIC HYBRIDIZATION OF DIPLOTAXIS SPP. WITH Brassica napus: A SOURCE OF NEW CMS SYSTEMS?

Abstract

Seventeen species of the genus Diplotaxis were used as female parents to determine the crossability to Brassica napus using conventional crossing techniques. Only D. muralis and D. erucoides were successfully hybridized to B. napus although hundreds of pollinations were performed for each intergeneric cross. Brassica napus ’Karat’ was backcrossed twice to the two intergeneric hybrids in an attempt to identify male sterility induced by the Diplotaxis cytoplasms. Brassica napus ’Bronowski’ and a nap A line were also crossed to BC₂ plants of the D. erucoides × B. napus cross to ascertain if the nuclear genotype had any effect on the expression of male sterility. Neither D. muralis nor D. erucoides cytoplasms induced male sterility in any of the B. napus genotypes tested.Key words: Diplotaxis, Brassica napus, cytoplasmic male sterility, crossability