The production of haploid wheat plants from wheat x maize crosses.
Hybrid embryos from hexaploid wheat x maize crosses rapidly lose the maize chromosomes to produce haploid wheat embryos. Such embryos almost always aborted when left to develop on the plant, and only 1 was recovered from 2440 florets (0.17% of the expected number). Embryos had greater viability in spikelet culture, 47 (26.5% of the expected number) being recovered from 706 ovaries. Thirty-two of these embryos germinated to give green plants, 31 of which were haploid (21 wheat chromosomes) and 1 of which was euploid (42 wheat chromosomes). Spikelet culture enabled 17.1% of the expected number of embryos to be recovered as haploid plants, a 100-fold improvement on allowing embryos to develop in vivo. Ten haploid plants of 'Chinese Spring' (kr1, kr2), 13 plants of 'Chinese Spring (Hope 5A)' (kr1, Kr2), and 8 of 'Hope' (Kr1, Kr2) were recovered. The potential of wheat x maize crosses for wheat haploid production and for gene transfer from maize to wheat is discussed.
Cambridge Laboratory, AFRC Institute of Plant Science Research, Maris Lane, CB2 2JB, Trumpington, Cambridge, UK.
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DA
Laurie
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MD
Bennett