Genetic diversity in elite inbred lines of maize and its association with heterosis
The objective of the current study was to apply molecular markers (microsatellites) in the analysis of genetic diversity of 48 lines of the elite maize germplasm stored in the bank of the Cooperativa Central de Pesquisa Agrícola - Coodetec, PR, Brazil, and estimate the correlation between genetic distance and heterosis and hybrid performance from the crosses among these maize lines. Forty-four random primers were used and amplification of 124 polymorphic fragments was obtained.