Mr. Campbell et al., GENETIC-VARIATION FOR STARCH THERMAL AND FUNCTIONAL-PROPERTIES AMONG NONMUTANT MAIZE INBREDS, Cereal chemistry, 72(3), 1995, pp. 281-286
Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been used in previous stud
ies to detect differences in thermal properties among starches of nonm
utant maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes. This study was conducted to deter
mine the magnitude of genetic and genotype by environmental effects on
starch properties among a set of exotic and domestic inbred lines. Fu
nctional properties of starches from selected lines exhibiting extreme
DSC values also were investigated. Highly significant (P less-than-or
-equal-to 0.01) differences for DSC starch thermal properties were see
n among the lines. Starches from exotic lines generally had lower gela
tinization onset temperature (T(o)), peak temperature (T(p)), and enth
alpy (DELTAH). A highly significant (P less-than-or-equal-to 0.01) inb
red by year interaction was present for all DSC parameters with the ex
ception of DELTAH. Differences were observed in starch viscosities and
gel strengths for six inbreds selected for highest and lowest T(p) DE
LTAH, and range (R(n)). Several significant (P less-than-or-equal-to 0
.05) correlations occurred between DSC parameters and starch paste vis
cosities and gel strengths. These data suggest that evaluation of star
ches from nonmutant genotypes by DSC can be used to predict some funct
ional properties. A practical application of DSC in breeding programs
may include screening maize germplasm for extreme DSC values or popula
tion improvement through recurrent selection.