In Vitro Approaches to Interspecific Hybridization and Chromosome Manipulation in Crop Plants

Abstract

The earliest report of an interspecific hybrid in plants is credited to Thomas Fairchild who in 1717 crossed carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) and sweet-william (D. barbatus) (Allard, 1960). Despite this early successful effort, the potential of wide hybridization in agronomic species was not appreciated until after the rediscovery of Mendel’s Laws. Since that time, the use of exotic germplasm has been significant in the improvement of a number of crops including wheat (Triticum sp.), potato (Solanum tuberosum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) (Sanchez-Monge and Garcia-Olmedo, 1977; Stalker, 1980; Sharma and Gill, 1983; Bowley and Taylor, 1984). Overall, wide hybridization has been important when intraspecific diversity is lacking and where suitable germplasm can be found in species which can be crossed easily.