Advances in Haploid Production in Higher Plants
The discovery of haploid Datura plants in 1964 initiated great excitement in plant breeding and genetics communities. Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of activities especially in developing protocols, identifying genes and mechanisms and large sca
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Alisher Touraev • Brian P. Forster • S. Mohan Jain Editors
Advances in Haploid Production in Higher Plants
Editors Dr. Alisher Touraev Max F. Perutz Laboratories University of Vienna Dr Bohrgasse 9/4 1030 Vienna Austria
Dr. S. Mohan Jain University of Helsinki Department of Applied Biology FI-00014 Helsinki Latokartanonkaari 5 Finland
Dr. Brian P. Forster BioHybrids International Ltd. Earley, Reading RG6 5FY United Kingdom
ISBN 978-1-4020-8853-7
e-ISBN 978-1-4020-8854-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008831064 © 2009 Springer Science + Business Media B.V. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com
Preface
The importance of haploids is well known to geneticists and plant breeders. The discovery of anther-derived haploid Datura plants in 1964 initiated great excitement in the plant breeding and genetics communities as it offered shortcuts in producing highly desirable homozygous plants. Unfortunately, the expected revolution was slow to materialise due to problems in extending methods to other species, including genotypic dependence, recalcitrance, slow development of tissue culture technologies and a lack of knowledge of the underlying processes. Recent years have witnessed great strides in the research and application of haploids in higher plants. After a lull in activities, drivers for the resurgence have been: (1) development of effective tissue culture protocols, (2) identification of genes controlling embryogenesis, and (3) large scale and wide spread commercial up-take in plant breeding and plant biotechnology arenas. The first major international symposium on “Haploids in Higher Plants” took place in Guelph, Canada in 1974. At that time there was much excitement about the potential benefits, but in his opening address Sir Ralph Riley offered the following words of caution: “I believe that it is quite likely that haploid research will contribute cultivars to agriculture in several crops in the future. However, the more extreme claims of the enthusiasts for haploid breeding must be treated with proper caution. Plant breeding is subject from time to time to sweeping claims from enthusiastic proponents of new procedures. Mention may be made of induced mutations and induced polyploids. The new techniques usually put an additional weapon in the armoury of the breeder but they rarely provide the total defence initially suggested. Let us study and consider haploids fully but let us be cautious and not take an unrealistic view of the contributions haploids can make to plant breeding real though I expect these to be.” It has taken several years to “study and consider haploids” to a po
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