Development of a new wheat germplasm with high anther culture ability by using a combination of gamma-ray irradiation and anther culture

BACKGROUNDWheat with high anther culture ability would be beneficial for breeding. We aimed to screen a wheat germplasm to with high anther culture ability as well as good agronomic characteristics. RESULTSThe F-1 young spikes of winter wheat cross combination Yanfu188/Jimai37 were irradiated with gamma rays at a dose of 1.5 Gy to develop a new germplasm H307 with high anther culture ability. The proportion of green plantlets per 100 anthers (GP/100A) of H307 was 14.50% which was higher than other H-2 lines (P < 0.05). Analysis over three successive years (2006-2008) revealed that the green plantlet regeneration ability of H307 remained high in all 3 years. Reciprocal crosses between H307 and Nongda3308 showed no significant differences in their values for calli per 100 anthers (CA/100A), green plantlets per 100 calli (GP/100C) and GP/100A (P > 0.05). Five main wheat varieties used in production, namely Yumai68, Yanzhan4110, Bainongaikang58, Zhoumai18 and Xinmai18, were selected to cross with the new H307. CA/100A, GP/100C and GP/100A were used to assess the anther culture ability of F-1 hybrids, demonstrating that the anther culture ability of H307 was heritable. CONCLUSIONH307 possessed high anther culture ability that was heritable, which would be potential germplasm for improving wheat anther breeding ability. (c) 2014 Society of Chemical Industry