A NEW SOURCE OF CYTOPLASMIC MALE-STERILITY IN PEARL-MILLET - RFLP ANALYSIS OF MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA

A new source of cytoplasmic male sterility (ems) in pearl millet (Penn isetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.) derived from a half-sib progeny of the Earl y Gene Pool (EGP 261) and used in a male-sterile line, ICMA 90111, was compared with other known ems sources for RFLP of mitochondrial (mt) DNA. Southern blot hybridization of mtDNA from ICMA 90111 digested wit h several restriction enzymes and probed with homologous mtDNA clones from pearl millet and heterologous gene clones from maize and wheat re vealed the RFLP patterns of ICMA 90111 distinct from others studied so far. The dendrogram of male-sterile lines constructed from the Southe rn blot hybridization patterns indicated that ICMA 90111 represents a separate group. Our results suggest that this source of ems is unique in several respects.