Haploid Production in Higher Plant

Majority of higher plants are outbreeding, highly heterozygous and undergo a long developmental period before reaching their reproductive stage. Traditional breeding and crosspollinating procedures are both unpredictable and time-consuming. Haploids are plants with a gametophytic chromosome number and doubled haploids are haploids that have undergone chromosome duplication, represent a particularly attractive biotechnological method to accelerate plant breeding. They can occur either spontaneously or can be induced by modified pollination methods in vivo, or by in vitro culture of immature male or female gametophytes. Biotechnologies provide powerful tools for plant breeding, and among these ones, tissue culture, particularly haploid and doubled haploid technology, can effectively help to select superior plants. In vitro haploid production is, thus, the most prolific and desirable approach of haploid production. This review describes the range of techniques available for the isolation or induction of haploids by in vivo or by in vitro, estimation of haploid lavel either through chromosome counting or flowcytometry and also discourse the value of haploids.