Identification and mapping of Rf-I an inhibitor of the Rf5 restorer gene for Cms-C in maize (Zea mays L.)

The restoration of the C-type cytoplasmic male sterility (Cms) has been a common agriculture practice in the production of hybrid seed for many years. In this study, a series of crosses between select sterile and restorer lines, as well as a backcross population of (Cms-C77 × 6233) × 6233, were used to investigate the restoration of C-type Cms. Our results demonstrated that there was an inhibitor of the Rf5 restorer gene. This inhibitor gene, Rf-I, maps to chromosome 7 and is tightly linked with SSR markers, umc2326 and umc2327, at a genetic distance 4.7 and 3.4 cM, respectively. After analyzing our data combined with previous studies, we propose that the restoration of C-type Cms has two dominant genes, Rf4 and Rf5. Rf4 has the ability to restore all genotypes of Cms-C lines; however, there exists an inhibitor for the other restorer gene, Rf5; thus, it can restore only those genotypes of Cms-C lines lacking the Rf-I inhibitor.