GISH characterization of Erianthus arundinaceus chromosomes in three generations of sugarcane intergeneric hybrids

Within Erianthus , a genus close to Saccharum , the species E. arundinaceus has the potential to contribute valuable traits to sugarcane, including adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses and ratooning ability. Sugarcane breeders have tried for a long time to use Erianthus species in their breeding programs but until recently were constrained by a lack of fertile Saccharum × Erianthus hybrids. We report here for the first time the chromosome composition of fertile Saccharum officinarum  × E. arundinaceus F1, BC1 (F1 × sugarcane cultivar), and BC2 (BC1 × sugarcane cultivar) hybrids. The F1 and BC2 resulted from n + n chromosome transmission, while the BC1 resulted from 2n + n transmission. In the BC1 clones, the number of E. arundinaceus chromosomes ranged from 21 to 30, and in the BC2 clones, the number ranged from 14 to 15, revealing cases of chromosome loss. No recombination events between Saccharum and Erianthus chromosomes were observed in either the BC1 or BC2 clones. The implications of these results for introgression of genes from E. arundinaceus in sugarcane breeding programs are discussed. We propose a strategy to identify the agronomic value of chromosomes from E. arundinaceus and to conduct targeted breeding based on this information.