Elite, transformable haploid inducers in maize

The introduction of alleles into commercial crop breeding pipelines is both time consuming and costly. Two technologies that are disrupting traditional breeding processes are doubled haploid (DH) breeding and genome editing (GE). Recently, these techniques were combined into a GE trait delivery system called HI-Edit (Haploid Inducer – Edit) [1]. In HI-Edit, the pollen of a haploid inducer line is reprogrammed to deliver GE traits to any variety, obviating recurrent selection. For HI-Edit to operate at scale, an efficient transformable HI line is needed, but most maize varieties are recalcitrant to transformation, and haploid inducers are especially difficult to transform given their aberrant reproductive behaviors. Leveraging marker assisted selection and a three-tiered testing scheme, we report the development of new Iodent and Stiff Stalk maize germplasm that are transformable, have high haploid induction rates, and exhibit a robust, genetically-dominant anthocyanin native trait that may be used for rapid haploid identification. We show that transformation of these elite “HI-Edit” lines is enhanced using the BABYBOOM and WUSCHEL morphogenetic factors. Finally, we evaluate the HI-Edit performance of one of the lines against both Stiff Stalk and non-Stiff Stalk testers. The strategy and results of this study should facilitate the development of commercially scalable HI-Edit systems in diverse crops.