Application of LW7 marker for identification of progenies with male sterility gene in sweet sorghum population

The objectives of this study were to verify the use of LW7 marker in identifying maintainer lines (B-lines) and restorer lines (R-lines) in grain sorghum and sweet sorghum, and to identify B-lines in the F2, BC1F2 and BC2F2 generations. Twenty five accessions of sorghum were evaluated, and LW7 marker correctly identified accessions which presented male sterility gene (rf4) in Suphan Buri1 and 03B cultivars; moreover, these genotypes did not show 779 bp band. The cross between Suphan Buri1 and a male-sterile line (A-line) 03A resulted in a sterilized male, confirming the usefulness of the marker in breeding programs. B-lines in the F2, BC1F2 and BC2F2 generations were identified by LW7 marker. The segregation ratio of 3:1 for male fertility and male sterility in the progenies of the three generations supported the one-gene model of Mendelian segregation. The use of marker assisted selection was successful for line development of sweet sorghum with male sterility