Articles
IMPROVEMENT OF HORTICULTURAL PLANTS THROUGH IN VITRO CULTURE AND INDUCED MUTATIONS
Article number
447_107
Pages
545 – 550
Language
Abstract
Radiation induced mutations have produced an array of new varieties in ornamental plants such as chrysanthemum, carnation, bougainvillea, roses and streptocarpus.
Many of these mutants were obtained by irradiating stem cuttings. In vitro techniques allow induction of mutations in large numbers of propagules in a small space, and several cycles of subculture can be carried out in a short duration to separate the mutated sectors from non-mutated ones.
In addition, there is no loss of the mutants, because micropropagules are subcultured under insect and disease-free conditions.
Culture of apical meristems, axillary buds, micro-cuttings and micro-plants, regenerative and embryogenic calli and cell suspensions, all allow mutagenic treatment of millions of cells with physical or chemical mutagens.
Many fruit trees (date palm, banana, plantain, apple, pear) and bulky materials (potato tubers, sweet potato, yams, tulip and daffodil bulbs) can now be irradiated in vitro as micro-cultures.
Thus, the combination of in vitro culture and mutation techniques provides a simple, fast and highly efficient method to improve horticultural crops.
For example, micro-cultured plants of chrysanthemum, potato, and streptocarpus were irradiated with 20 Gy gamma rays, and subcultured four times from single nodal cuttings.
In each plant, several useful mutants were recovered among the populations thus produced.
In this paper, an updated account of the recently obtained mutants using in vitro technologies is presented, and the future prospects and potential of this technology for the improvement of horticultural crops are discussed.
Many of these mutants were obtained by irradiating stem cuttings. In vitro techniques allow induction of mutations in large numbers of propagules in a small space, and several cycles of subculture can be carried out in a short duration to separate the mutated sectors from non-mutated ones.
In addition, there is no loss of the mutants, because micropropagules are subcultured under insect and disease-free conditions.
Culture of apical meristems, axillary buds, micro-cuttings and micro-plants, regenerative and embryogenic calli and cell suspensions, all allow mutagenic treatment of millions of cells with physical or chemical mutagens.
Many fruit trees (date palm, banana, plantain, apple, pear) and bulky materials (potato tubers, sweet potato, yams, tulip and daffodil bulbs) can now be irradiated in vitro as micro-cultures.
Thus, the combination of in vitro culture and mutation techniques provides a simple, fast and highly efficient method to improve horticultural crops.
For example, micro-cultured plants of chrysanthemum, potato, and streptocarpus were irradiated with 20 Gy gamma rays, and subcultured four times from single nodal cuttings.
In each plant, several useful mutants were recovered among the populations thus produced.
In this paper, an updated account of the recently obtained mutants using in vitro technologies is presented, and the future prospects and potential of this technology for the improvement of horticultural crops are discussed.
Authors
B.S. Ahloowalia
Keywords
breeding, irradiation, tissue culture, somatic embryogenesis
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