The effect of cold and heat treatments on the anther culture response of diverse rye genotypes

Abstract

Rye is generally a recalcitrant species in anther culture, although relatively high green plant regeneration rates have been reported for some cultivars. Pre- and post-plating stress treatments and media that in previous experiments have given promising results were tested in combinations to improve green plant regeneration from anther culture for a wide range of rye cultivars and lines. The combination of a cold pre-treatment of spikes and a heat post-treatment of plated anthers was beneficial. It increased green plant regeneration in four breeding lines of winter rye. However, even this combination of strong stress treatments did not improve the anther culture response in the most recalcitrant cultivars. The results with previously untested rye material showed no interaction between the genotype and the medium for the embryogenic callus induction. This facilitates the application of anther culture to diverse breeding material.