The Effect of Carbohydrate Composition and Concentration on Anther Culture Response in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Abstract

AbstractCulture medium composition is critical for the successful induction of microspore division in vitro. The present experiments have focused on a relatively neglected area of cell and tissue culture research, namely the carbohydrate component used in the medium. Three spring barley genotypes were cultured on a medium which was modified by replacing sucrose with the following carbohydrates (6 % w/v): maltose, fructose, malt extract, galactose and a glucose (3 % w/v)/fructose (3 % w/v) mixture. Both maltose and malt extract were superior to sucrose in their capacity to induce green plantlet differentiation from microspores. The concentrations of both sucrose and maltose were also varied. Overall the response of anthers on maltose based media was higher than on sucrose based media. Furthermore, a concentration of maltose m the range 6—12 % w/v produced a higher frequency of green plants than a low concentration (1—3 % w/v). The effect of maltose based media on germplasm of direct relevance to barley breeders was also tested. The cultivar ‘Blenheim’ was shown to be very responsive and this genetic factor was transmitted to the F1 hybrid. The frequency of haploid to diploid regenerants was not consistent over genotypes, but in general there were more haploid than diploid regenerants. The implications of these results for barley breeding are discussed.