Transgenic Male Sterlity For Hybrid Seed Production In Vegetables -A Review

The development of strategies to improve crop plants by the production of hybrid varieties is a major goal in plant breeding. Hybrid progeny often have a higher yield, increased resistance to disease, and an enhanced performance in different environment compared with the parental lines. Availability of cost effective mechanism/ method to produce large scale hybrid seed utilizing selected parental line is one of the important factors which ultimately determine the commercial viability of hybrid varieties. Manual emasculation increased cost of production, so use of various genetic mechanism via; male sterility, self incompatible, gynoecious lines, use of sex regulators and chemical hybridizing agents based on relative importance in hybrid development. Among these, genetic emasculation tools male sterility is commonly used for hybrid production. Although engineered male sterility systems are not currently in commercial use, except for possibly the barnasebarstar system, these are likely to have significant importance in future hybrid-breeding programs. However, the most significant development is the possibility of engineering male sterility by inserting cloned gene sequences which can disrupt any or more than one step during microsporogenesis Male sterile transgenic plants can be obtained through genetic transformation with related genes destroying or interfering with pollen or anther development. Male sterile cauliflower, tomato, cabbage, etc. have been developed in this way, and some begin to be used to produce hybrid seed. Appling some techniques can also maintain and restore the male sterility. These related researches will effectively promote the heterosis utilization and the development of crop breeding.