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The objectives of this research are to identify corn germplasm with resistance to contamination by aflatoxin, to investigate the genetic basis of resistance, to determine the chromosomal regions associated with resistance, and to transfer this resistance into elite inbred lines of corn using both conventional breeding and marker assisted selection techniques.
Corn germplasm will be evaluated for resistance to aflatoxin accumulation in Texas. Lines with resistance will be crossed with elite, but susceptible, inbred lines with known heterotic patterns. Inbred parents and hybrids of a diallel cross among previously identified aflatoxin resistant lines will be artificially inoculated with Aspergillus flavus and evaluated for level of aflatoxin contamination. Genetic parameters, correlations between inbreds and hybrids, and dosage effects will be estimated for aflatoxin resistance. Drought stress will be induced by late planting and limited irrigation. One hundred F2:F3 families from a cross between a resistant line and a susceptible line will be evaluated for aflatoxin accumulation at two locations in Mississippi and one location in Texas to identify superior families and to identify molecular markers to increase selection efficiency.