REVIEW article

Front. Plant Sci.

Sec. Technical Advances in Plant Science

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1634053

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancements of Haploid Technology in Crops: New Horizons in Breeding and GeneticsView all articles

GENES AND GENETICS BELONG TO MAIZE HAPLOID INDUCTION

Provisionally accepted
Kanogporn KhammonaKanogporn Khammona1,2*Abil DermailAbil Dermail3Yu-Ru ChenYu-Ru Chen4Thomas LubberstedtThomas Lubberstedt4Samart WanchanaSamart Wanchana2Theerayut ToojindaTheerayut Toojinda2Siwaret ArikitSiwaret Arikit5Vinitchan RuanjaichonVinitchan Ruanjaichon2*
  • 1Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Thailand
  • 2National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Khlong Nueng, Thailand
  • 3Khon Kaen University, Nai Mueang, Thailand
  • 4Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, United States
  • 5Kasetsart University Department of Agronomy, Bangkok, Thailand

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Maize (Zea mays L.) is a globally significant cereal crop with diverse food, feed, and industry uses. The rapid development of homozygous inbred lines via double haploid (DH) technology has revolutionized maize breeding, reducing the time and cost required for cultivar improvement. This review synthesizes advances in haploid induction systems, focusing on the genetic mechanisms underlying both paternal and maternal inducers. Key genes such as IG1, MTL/ZmPLA1/NLD, ZmDMP, ZmPLD3, ZmPOD65, and the centromeric histone variant CENH3 are examined for their roles in haploid embryo formation. Methods of haploid identification based on DNA content and phenotypic markers (e.g., R1-navajo and Pl1 genes) are critically assessed, including recent innovations that enhance selection accuracy. Additionally, the integration of kernel oil content (KOC) as a quantitative trait for haploid discrimination is discussed. Progress in artificial and spontaneous chromosome doubling techniques, particularly the roles of colchicine, N₂O treatments, and identified QTL governing spontaneous haploid genome doubling (SHGD), are highlighted. This review underscores the transformative potential of combining novel genetic tools, precision phenotyping, and genomeediting strategies to further optimize DH technology for maize improvement, ultimately facilitating next-generation plant breeding programs.

Keywords: paternal haploid inducer, maternal haploid inducer, R1-nj, Chromosome doubling, spontaneous chromosome genome doubling

Received: 27 May 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Khammona, Dermail, Chen, Lubberstedt, Wanchana, Toojinda, Arikit and Ruanjaichon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Kanogporn Khammona, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Thailand
Vinitchan Ruanjaichon, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Khlong Nueng, Thailand

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material