Which statement about a maintainer line is correct?

✅Explanation:-A maintainer line is male fertile but cannot restore fertility. In plant breeding, a maintainer line carries a specific nuclear genetic makeup that maintains the male sterility of a sterile line when crossed. It is important for maintaining male sterility in subsequent generations without restoring fertility, which is essential for producing hybrid seeds.

🛑 Related Terminology:
● Hybrid seed: Seeds produced by crossing two genetically different parents, often resulting in heterosis (hybrid vigor).
● Male sterility: Inability of a plant to produce viable pollen.
● Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS): Male sterility caused by mutations in the mitochondrial DNA, not the nuclear genes.
● Nuclear restorer genes: Genes in a restorer line that overcome the sterility caused by CMS.
● Heterosis (hybrid vigor): Increased performance of hybrid offspring compared to their parents.