Phenotypic variation in plants regenerated from protoplasts: The potato system

✍ Scribed by Dennis L. Bidney; James F. Shepard

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1981
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 548 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0006-3592
• DOI: 10.1002/bit.260231205

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Regeneration of whole plants from isolated protoplasts (plant cells devoid of cell walls) provides a novel capability that is potentially useful for crop improvement efforts. Such a regeneration capacity has been developed for the commercial potato cultivar ‘russet Burbank,’ currently the most popular cultivar in production. Due to fertility problems of this cultivar, the improvement of ‘russet Burbank’ by classical breeding procedures has been limited. Examination of a large population of protoplast‐derived clones has revealed the variation for a number of traits can be observed. Variation observed under laboratory conditions and in field trials includes changes in plant morphology and tuber‐setting characteristics, as well as alterations in response to environmental and pathogen stress. A brief description of the cloning process and the potential for application of cloning technology in crop plant improvement will be presented.