Corn Purity

When Should I use this Test?

Hybrid purity is an important component to seed production.  In some cases, Isoelectric Focusing (IEF) can replace the traditional grow-out; it can also complement the results obtained from the phenotypic assessment during grow-out analysis.  IEF is a technique of separating total extracted seed protein to create a unique banding pattern. Hybrid corn will share bands in common with the male and female parents. IEF can be used to identify off-types and selfs.

What Technique is Used?

Seed tissue is crushed and extracted. The extracted protein is separated by pH on a polyacrylamide gel.  A unique banding pattern is displayed once the gel is stained.  Female and Male parents present unique banding patterns and parent-specific bands can be observed in true hybrid seed.  Off-types or out-crosses are easily recognizable as foreign bands will be presented.  This test is performed on 100 individual hybrid seeds.  Parent seed is required for testing; female seed is required for scoring selfs; it is preferred that both male and female seed be submitted.  Results are returned as a percent of hybrid seed with off-types and selfs noted.