Institut für Züchtungsforschung an gartenbaulichen Kulturen
The perils of climate change and global warming call for a swift development of modern and rapid plant breeding techniques. Haploid and double haploid (DH) induction, via triggering microspore embryogenesis (MicroEm), has significantly improved the breeding of a wide range of strategic plant crops and thus is one of the most successful biotechnological approaches. On one hand, polyhaploids (haploid plants with half chromosomal set from polyploids) can be hybridized together and generate new polyploidy-level plants. Polyhaploid plants can be reproduced as haploids in species that are vegetatively propagated for instance pelargonium (Pelargonium spp.). On the other hand, DH and D-polyhaploids enable the fixation of desired alleles in the generated homozygous plants. These plants can be leveraged for the development of new varieties or augmenting the gene pool for breeding programs like hybrid breeding. In addition, DH contributed significantly to various biotechnological approaches like genome mapping, marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, hybrid production, and genome editing. Despite the garnered weight of MicroEm for biotechnology and commercial plant improvement, it has not been yet widely applicable in horticultural crops. The concept of the project will thus encompass the establishment of protocols and analysis of the contemporary structural changes during MicroEm. Microscopic investigation e.g. fluorescence labeling, histology, and electron microscopy of the development of embryogenic (cultured) in comparison to gametophytic microspore will be established. Expected results can be deployed to run transcriptomic analysis to understand the underlying mechanisms of the MicroEm process. The multi-purpose potted Capsicum annuum (compact genotypes) will be employed as a horticultural model plant because of its compactness, characterized genome, ease of cultivation, and short life cycle. Substantially, improved methods in capsicum will be applied for pelargonium, and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) as well as other agro-economically important horticultural plants.
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
