Breeding for colored quality protein popcorn with improved amino acid composition

Area of Science:

• Plant Breeding
• Nutritional Science
• Genetics

Background:

• Popcorn has low lysine content due to high zein protein accumulation.
• The opaque-2 (o2) mutation reduces zein, increasing lysine-rich proteins.
• Quality Protein Maize (QPM) and Popcorn (QPP) are high-lysine varieties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To breed high-lysine, diversely colored popcorn inbreds.
• To improve protein quality in popcorn using public germplasm.
• To develop QPP hybrids with enhanced nutrition and diverse sensory traits.

Main Methods:

• Crossed QPM lines with colored popcorn germplasm.
• Utilized recurrent backcrossing and selfing for introgression and selection.
• Analyzed protein profiles (SDS-PAGE) and amino acid content.

Main Results:

• Developed nine BC3F5 colored QPP inbreds.
• Confirmed reduced alpha zeins and maintained protein concentration.
• Observed significant increases in lysine (up to 10-fold free lysine) and tryptophan.

Conclusions:

• Successfully bred high-lysine, colored popcorn inbreds with improved protein quality.
• Identified QPP lines with desirable popping characteristics for hybrid development.
• Demonstrated potential to enhance popcorn's nutritional profile and expand its applications.