Haploids: Constraints and opportunities in plant breeding

Haploids and Doubled Haploids in Plant Breeding

Haploids are plants (sporophytes) that contain a gametic chromosome number (n). They can originate spontaneously in nature or as a result of various induction techniques. Spontaneous development of haploid plants has been known since 1922, when Blakeslee first described this phenomenon in Datura stramonium (Blakeslee et al., 1922); this was subsequently followed by similar reports in tobacco (N...

Doubled Haploids versus Conventional Breeding in CIMMYT Wheat Breeding Programs

Doubled haploid (DH) technology has been used in breeding programs for several decades and is currently the method of choice in a number of crop species, including barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), rapeseed (Brassica napus L.), maize (Zea mays L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study we investigated via computer simulation the benefit of using DHs compared with the conventional wheat bre...

Health Tourism: Opportunities, Constraints, Obstacles and Solutions

The Use of Doubled-haploids in Cassava Breeding

Cassava breeding is difficult and, compared with other crops, inefficient. The problems in cassava breeding relate to the length of the breeding cycle, the large genetic load present in the crop, and the heterozygous nature of the parents and progenies evaluated. The production of doubled haploids, through tissue culture techniques, offers interesting advantages. By definition, any process that...

Plant Breeding and Genetics