How to shorten a plant breeding program? A case study with ornamental peppers

Priscila Alves Barroso,Joelson Germano Crispim,Elizanilda Ramalho Do Rêgo,Mailson Monteiro Do Rêgo,Maria Do Perpétuo Socorro Damasceno Costa

doi:10.1590/1984-70332019v19n2a27

Abstract

Abstract Plant breeding of ornamental peppers (Capsicum spp.) can be supported by biotechnological tools. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of an in vitro culture of immature zygotic embryos (IZE) to reduce the breeding cycle of ornamental pepper (C. annuum) in comparison to the conventional system. Three ornamental pepper genotypes were used: UFPB 001, UFPB 004, and UFPB 099. Embryos at 30 days after selfing were inoculated in MS ½-strength culture medium, and at the same time, seeds were placed to germinate in a commercial substrate. Approximately 215 days are required from selfing until fruit ripening in the conventional system, whereas the IZE system requires an average of 153 days, a decrease of approximately 30% per selection cycle, corresponding to 496 days considering 8 selfing cycles. A decrease in time, labor, and inputs makes the IZE system a suitable tool for shortening the breeding program of ornamentals peppers.

Highlights

Pepper (Capsicum spp.) is one of the most important vegetables cultivated in the world and the variation in color, fruit shape, and leaf shape has drawn attention to them as ornamental plants (Bosland and Votava 2000, Rêgo et al 2009, Rêgo and Rêgo 2016, Rêgo and Rêgo 2018)
Phase I*: from selfings to embryo isolation and culture (IZE system); Phase II: from seed sowing to transplanting; Phase III: from transplanting to beginning of anthesis; Phase IV: from anthesis to ripening of the first three pieces of fruit. *Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different from each other by the Tukey test (p≤0.01)
This study demonstrates the efficiency of the in vitro culture technique of immature zygotic embryos (IZE) in shortening the breeding cycle of ornamental peppers

Summary

Introduction

Pepper (Capsicum spp.) is one of the most important vegetables cultivated in the world and the variation in color, fruit shape, and leaf shape has drawn attention to them as ornamental plants (Bosland and Votava 2000, Rêgo et al 2009, Rêgo and Rêgo 2016, Rêgo and Rêgo 2018). The breeding cycle of Capsicum is relatively long compared to other Solanaceae species such as tomato and eggplant (Manzur et al 2013). The length of the cycle depends on the genotype and local climate conditions (Bosland and Votava 2000, Manzur et al 2014). Techniques that can reduce the length of the breeding cycle will have two advantages: shortening the breeding program up to release of a new cultivar and reduction in costs (Manzur et al 2014, Gatti et al 2016). One of the best-known techniques for reducing the breeding cycle is production of doubled haploids (DH).

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Conclusion