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Anther development in Brachiaria brizantha (syn. Urochloa brizantha) and perspective for microspore in vitro culture

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Abstract

Brachiaria, a genus from the Poaceae family, is largely cultivated as forage in Brazil. Among the most cultivated varieties of Brachiaria spp., B. brizantha cv. Marandu (syn. Urochloa brizantha) is of great agronomical importance due to the large areas cultivated with this species. This cultivar is apomictic and tetraploid. Sexual diploid genotype is available for this species. The difference in levels of ploidy among sexual and apomictic plants contributes to hindering Brachiaria breeding programs. The induction of haploids and double haploids is of great interest for the generation of new genotypes with potential use in intraspecific crosses. A key factor for the success of this technique is identifying adequate microspore developmental stages for efficient embryogenesis induction. Knowledge of the morphological changes during microsporogenesis and microgametogenesis and sporophytic tissues composing the anther is critical for identifying the stages in which microspores present a higher potential for embryogenic callus and somatic embryo through in vitro culture. In this work, morphological markers were associated with anther and pollen grain developmental stages, through histological analysis. Anther development was divided into 11 stages using morphological and cytological characteristics, from anther with archesporial cells to anther dehiscence. The morphological characteristics of each stage are presented. In addition, the response of stage 8 anthers to in vitro culture indicates microspores initiating somatic embryogenic pathway.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Prof. Dr. Michiel T.M. Willemse for critically reviewing the manuscript; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, (CNPq) for the doctorate scholarship (141959/2006-1) for ADK and Research Fellowship for APM (305785/2008-7); Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa) for financial support; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. We cordially acknowledge CMI-FOP-UNICAMP coordinated by Prof. Pedro D. Novaes for the use of the transmission electron microscope.

Funding

Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, 001, Adriana Martinelli, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico 141959/2006-1, Andréa Koehler, 305785/2008-7, Adriana Martinelli.

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  1. University of Sao Paulo, CENA, Av. Centenario 303, Piracicaba, SP, 13416-903, Brazil

    Andréa D. Koehler, Mônica L. Rossi & Adriana P. Martinelli

  2. Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Cx.Postal 02372, Brasilia, DF, 70.770-917, Brazil

    Andréa D. Koehler, Vera T. C. Carneiro, Glaucia B. Cabral & Diva M. A. Dusi

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  1. Andréa D. Koehler
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Contributions

ADK, APM, VTCC, and DMAD designed the project; ADK, MLR, DMAD, and GBC performed experimental procedures; ADK, MLR, DMAD, VTCC, and APM performed image analysis; ADK, MLR, GBC, VTCC APM, and DMAD participated in the research, analyzed the data, and wrote the article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Diva M. A. Dusi.

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Koehler, A.D., Rossi, M.L., Carneiro, V.T.C. et al. Anther development in Brachiaria brizantha (syn. Urochloa brizantha) and perspective for microspore in vitro culture. Protoplasma 260, 571–587 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-022-01802-w

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