Genetic mapping and characterization of sorghum and related crops by means of maize DNA probes.

Cloned DNA fragments from 14 characterized maize genes and 91 random fragments used for genetic mapping in maize were tested for their ability to hybridize and detect restriction fragment length polymorphisms in sorghum and other related crop species. Most DNA fragments tested hybridized strongly to DNA from sorghum, foxtail millet, Johnsongrass, and sugarcane. Hybridization to pearl millet DNA was generally weaker, and only a few probes hybridized to barley DNA under the conditions used. Patterns of hybridization of low-copy sequences to maize and sorghum DNA indicated that the two genomes are very similar. Most probes detected two loci in maize; these usually detected two loci in sorghum. Probes that detected one locus in maize generally detected a single locus in sorghum. However, maize repetitive DNA sequences present on some of the genomic clones did not hybridize to sorghum DNA. Most of the probes tested detected polymorphisms among a group of seven diverse sorghum lines tested; over one-third of the probes detected polymorphism in a single F2 population from two of these lines. Cosegregation analysis of 55 F2 individuals enabled several linkage groups to be constructed and compared with the linkage relationships of the same loci in maize. The linkage relationships of the polymorphic loci in the two species were usually conserved, but several rearrangements were detected.