Marker-assisted screening of breeding populations of an apomictic grass Cenchrus ciliaris L. segregating for the mode of reproduction

Abstract Cenchrus ciliaris L. is an apomictic forage grass grown in pastures and rangelands of the semi-arid tropics. It reproduces predominantly through apomixis; rarely, obligate sexual plants have also been reported. Absence of sexual reproduction limits the possibility of genetic improvement through hybridization. This study reports on hybridization of an obligate sexual, self-incompatible buffelgrass with pollen from apomictic plants towards development of an F2 population segregating for mode of reproduction and use of sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers for screening ...