Abstract
Hybrid breeding is of economic importance in agriculture for increasing yield, yet the basis of heterosis is not well understood. In Arabidopsis, crosses between different accessions produce hybrids with different levels of heterosis relative to parental phenotypes in biomass. In all hybrids, the advantage of the F1 hybrid in both phenotypic uniformity and yield gain is lost in the heterogeneous F2. F5/F6 Hybrid Mimics generated from a cross between C24 and Landsberg erecta (Ler) ecotypes demonstrated that the large plant phenotype of the F1 hybrids can be stabilized. Hybrid Mimic selection was applied to Wassilewskija (Ws)/Ler and Col/Ler hybrids. The two hybrids show different levels of heterosis. The Col/Ler hybrid generated F7 Hybrid Mimics with rosette diameter and fresh weight equivalent to the F1 hybrid at 30 DAS; F7 Ws/Ler Hybrid Mimics outperformed the F1 hybrid in both the rosette size and biomass. Transcriptome analysis revealed up-regulation of cell wall biosynthesis, and cell wall expansion genes could be a common pathway in increased size in the Arabidopsis hybrids and Hybrid Mimics. Intercross of two independent Hybrid Mimic lines can further increase the biomass gain. Our results encourage the use of Hybrid Mimics for breeding and for investigating the molecular basis of heterosis.