INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION
Superior performance of heterozygous F1 hybrid
plants in terms of increased biomass, size, yield,
speed of development, fertility, resistance to
disease and insect pest, or to climatic rigors of
any kind compared to the average of their
homozygous parental inbred lines (Shull, 1952 &
Falconer, 1996)
Evolutionary definition: The heterozygotes
have higher fitness in a population than the
homozygotes

History
History
I raised close together two large beds of
I raised close together two large beds of
self-fertilised and crossed seedlings from the
self-fertilised and crossed seedlings from the
same plant of Linaria vulgaris. To my
same plant of Linaria vulgaris. To my
surprise, the crossed plants when fully
surprise, the crossed plants when fully
grown were plainly taller and more vigorous
grown were plainly taller and more vigorous
than
theand
self-fertilized
ones.
- Charles
(The Effects of
Cross
Self Fertilisation
in the Vegetable
than
the self-fertilized
ones.
- Charles
Darwin
Kingdom, 1876).
Darwin
Documented growth, development, and seed fertility
of cross-pollinated plants compared with the parents
for more than 60 different species of plants.
Results: Inbreeding was generally deleterious &
cross-fertilization was generally beneficial.

George H. Shull: published The composition of a

field of maize (1908) which marked the rediscovery
of hybrid vigor or heterois and the beginning of
applying heterosis in plant breeding.
Selfing maize plants led to reduction of overall
growth vigor and yield.
This was supported from maize inbreeding
experiments by Edward M. East (1908)
Term coined by SHULL in (1914) as stimulation of
heterozygosis
1920s maize yield was increased by 6 fold.
1964, Yuan, Long Ping, initiated research on hybrid
rice and heterosis in China
1875: Wilson A S reported first hybrid between
Wheat and Rhy in Scotland, decade later W. Rhimpau
produced first doubled fertile hybrid- Triticale.
1927: Karpchenko developed new species from
hybrid between Raphanus and Brassica

Modern view of Hybrid

Modern view of Hybrid
vigor
vigor

In cotton AA progenitor species

produce both lint fibers (long) and
fuzz, where as DD progenitor
species produce only few shorter
lint fibers. The resulting
allotetraploid G. hirsutum produce
more abundant & higher quality
fiber.
In Brassica napus has higher oil
content and better oil composition
than parents.
For viable hybrids, degree of
heterosis is proportional to the
parental divergence
Interspecific hybrids > Intraspecific
hybrids
Intersubspp. hybrid > intrasubssp.
(rice)

Genetic, epigenetic & genomic changes

The degree of heterosis may shift during different

stages of growth and development
eg: If growth vigor shown at seedling stage may
show at reproductive stage also, but in some plants
it is not.
Because they are controlled by different sets of
genes and regulatory pathways.
Biomass heterosis is largely dependent on flowering
time
In B. napus late flowering is heterotic, whereas in
maize hybrids early flowering is heterotic,
suggesting different effects of gene actions
(repression or activation) on heterosis
single-locus heterosis in tomato could be controlled