Monitoring sporophytic development of individual microspores of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Abstract

Microspores can be switched from their normal gametophytic fate of pollen formation to initiate sporophytic development leading to embryo formation by exposure to stress. Microspore-derived embryogenesis is of scientific interest in various respects: it constitutes a powerful model system to investigate induction of embryogenesis and early embryonic development. In contrast to zygotic embryogenesis, all developmental stages are freely accessable at a large scale for observation, molecular analysis and manipulation techniques. The possibility to produce doubled-haploid plants makes this system very useful in plant breeding programmes. Through a single step from one generation to another, individuals carrying defect allels are systematically eliminated, whereas traits of interest can be fixed homozygously in the progeny. Moreover, microspore cultures can be coupled with genetic transformation techniques.