Australia
June 14, 2011
Source: Ground Cover issue 93 Jul-Aug 2011
A technique commonly used in barley to produce true breeding material in a single generation is being refined to improve its application to wheat and oat breeding programs.
Called doubled haploids (DH), the technique increases the speed, efficiency and cost effectiveness of many plant breeding programs that require genetic uniformity.
Barley doubled haploids are routinely produced using the isolated microspore culture technique and have made an important contribution to barley breeding programs.
In contrast, wheat doubled haploids are usually produced by the more expensive maize hybridisation method. This is necessary because of low conversion rates of microspores to haploid plants. The extra cost incurred has led to a significant decline in DH use in wheat breeding.
The South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) Plant Cell Culture Group has recently obtained funding from the SA Grains Industry Trust (SAGIT) and the GRDC to develop commercially viable methods for wheat and oat doubled haploid plant production.
This project aims to build on the findings of the previous SAGIT-funded work. At present, it is possible to routinely achieve microspore growth into embryo-like structures in both wheat and oat but it is inconsistent in wheat and there is a poor conversion to doubled haploid plants in oats.
The new work will seek to overcome these problems using a number of techniques. These include using media conditioned with either ovaries or microspores, adjusting pH levels, doing it in association with barley microspores, or using chemicals known to improve microspore germination.
A successful outcome will result in an immediate improvement to the cost effectiveness of DH techniques for breeding wheat and oat.
* The authors are researchers based at the South Australian Research and Development Institute.
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