Assotiation of total carotenoid level in maize grain (Zea mays L.) with polimorphic site InDel1 in PSY1 gene

Background. The Maize is the only major cereal crop that can naturally accumulate appreciable levels of carotenoids which are the source of provitamin A. The estimation of assotiation of total carotenoid level in maize grain with polimorphism PSY1 InDel1 was made. Materials and Methods. We used collection of 54 maize genotypes of different eco-geographical origin, methods of PCR analysis, spectrophotometry, statistical analysis in this study. Results. Total carotenoid content of genotypes with favorable allele of InDel1 was 0,60 mg/100 g, which was significantly higher than that of the samples with unfavorable allele (0,43 mg/100 g). Conclusion. Thus, the use of PCR-based markers for the PSY1 InDel1 polymorphism is a reliable method for the identification of genotypes with high carotenoid accumulation in maize grain