Influence of copper sulfate on anther culture in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

In order to improve the yield of androgenesis in barley, copper sulfate was tested during the successive steps of anther culture at various concentrations. The best results were obtained when copper sulfate was added at 10 muM (100 fold higher than the control) during both the pretreatment and the culture phases. Under these conditions, the rate of responding anthers increased from 57.3 to 72.3%, the number of regenerated plantlets from 2.4 to 11.1 per responding anther and the proportion of albino plantlets was reduced from 13 to 10.8%. The addition of copper sulfate during plantlet regeneration did not further improve the yield of androgenesis. The positive influence of copper sulfate was characterized by an increase of microspore survival during anther Culture and by a synchronization of the first symetric division around the seventh day of culture. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.