Anther culture for haploid and doubled haploid production

Abstract

Haploids are plants with a gametophytic chromosome number and doubled haploids are haploids that have undergone chromosome duplication. The production of haploids and doubled haploids (DHs) through gametic embryogenesis allows a single-step development of complete homozygous lines from heterozygous parents, shortening the time required to produce homozygous plants in comparison with the conventional breeding methods that employ several generations of selfing. The production of haploids and DHs provides a particularly attractive biotechnological tool, and the development of haploidy technology and protocols to produce homozygous plants has had a significant impact on agricultural systems. Nowadays, these biotechnologies represent an integral part of the breeding programmes of many agronomically important crops. There are several available methods to obtain haploids and DHs, of which in vitro anther or isolated microspore culture are the most effective and widely used. This review article deals with the current status of knowledge on the production of haploids and DHs through pollen embryogenesis and, in particular, anther culture.

Microspore embryogenesis and production of haploid and doubled haploid plants in carrot (Daucus carota L.)

“…With DH production systems established, homozygous lines can be achieved in one generation, which would allow to reduce the time and cost of cultivar development (Dunwell 2010;Ferrie and Caswell 2010;Germanà 2011). The system has been effectively used in barley, wheat (Jauhar et al 2009;Ferrie and Caswell 2010), maize (Smith et al 2008;Chang and Coe 2009), and various Brassica species (Belmonte et al 2006;Fang et al 2006;Zhang et al 2008;Takahira et al 2011;Winarto and Teixeira da Silva 2011).…”

“…For some species, there is a high percentage of spontaneous chromosome doubling, which results in homozygous DH plants. If spontaneous doubling does not occur, or occurs at a low frequency, the haploid plants need to be treated with a doubling agent, such as colchicine, oryzalin, and trifluralin (Maluszynski et al 2003;Castillo et al 2009;Germanà 2011;Mohammadi et al 2012). Cytogenetic analysis has shown that there were high rate of spontaneous diploidization in carrot anther culture (Zhuang et al 2010).…”

“…It was first envisioned as a technique to accelerate the breeding process and to use for practical and basic research in many crops (Dunwell 2010;Ferrie and Caswell 2010;Germanà 2011). While efficient protocols for microspore embryogenesis induction have been developed to obtain haploid and DH plants in several crops (Maluszynski et al 2003;Dunwell 2010;Ferrie and Caswell 2010), limited progress has been reported using anther cultures (Dohya et al 1997;Tyukavin et al 1999;Adamus and Michalik 2003;Górecka et al 2005;Smýka-lová et al 2009;), isolated microspore cultures (IMC; Dohya et al 1997;Górecka et al 2010;, or unfertilized ovule cultures (Kiełkowska and Adamus 2010) of Apiaceae species.…”

Identification and evaluation of intervarietal substitution lines of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) with donor segments affecting the direct embryo to plant conversion rate of microspore-derived embryos

“…Also, microspores and MDEs can be used for mutagenesis and in vitro selection (Albrecht et al 1995;Barro et al 2001;Ferrie et al 2008;McClinchey and Kott 2008) and it is possible to utilize microspores for genetic transformation (Guerche et al 1987;Fukuoka et al 1998;Nehlin et al 2000;Dormann et al 2001). The main advantage of androgenesis is, that traits can be fixed in one generation rather than after multiple selfpollinated generations (Dunwell 2010;Ferrie and Caswell 2011;Germanà 2011).…”

Gametic and somatic embryogenesis through in vitro anther culture of different Citrus genotypes

“…Gametic embryogenesis, which allows the single-step development of complete homozygous lines from heterozygous parents, has already had a huge impact on the agricultural systems of many agronomically important crops, representing an integral part in their breeding programs (Germanà 2011a(Germanà , 2011b. To induce gametic embryogenesis, it is necessary to switch the gametic cells from their normal developmental pathway toward a sporophytic pathway.…”