Kristina Glimelius

A method for production of interspecific hybrids within Brassiceae via somatic hybridization, using resynthesis of Brassica napus as a model

A general method for the production of somatic hybrids within Brassiceae has been developed using mesophyll protoplasts from one parent and hypocotyl protoplasts from the other. Fusion products were easily identified by their intermediate phenotype between the parental protoplasts. They could be isolated 24 h after fusion with micropipettes using a micromanipulator. At that time their frequency was about 15%. They were cultured in small volumes, 10 μl, and a plating efficiency of 14% was obtained. Hybrid calli were obtained from the fusion products, which was confirmed by isozyme analysis. Ploidy level of one hybrid shoot was determined by flow cytometric DNA analysis.

Selection and enrichment of plant protoplast heterokaryons of Brassicaceae by flow sorting

Abstract The experimental conditions for an efficient and reproducible enrichment of fusion products by flow cytometry, using protoplasts of different Brassica species as hybridization material, have been investigated. The heterokaryons were identified by the endogenous chlorophyll autofluorescencence of mesophyll protoplasts of one parent and the fluorescense of exogenously supplied carboxyfluorescin to the hypocotyl protoplasts of the other parent. By using a low head drive frequency (11 kHz), a large nozzle (110 μm) and a low nozzle pressure (30–35 kPa) good survival of the protoplasts was obtained after sorting. Heterokaryons were sorted using these parameters and on average 80% of the protoplasts were fusion products as judged by microscopy. They were cultured in small volumes, 150 μl, and started to divide after 3–5 days and regenerated calli easily. Isozyme analysis of the calli confirmed that 81% had the pattern typical for a hybrrid. Differentiation into shoots have been obtained from some of the hybrid calli; these shoots were also confirmed to be true hybrids.

Transfer of resistance against Phoma lingam to Brassica napus by asymmetric somatic hybridization combined with toxin selection

SummaryIrradiated mesophyll protoplasts from nine different accessions of B. juncea, B. nigra and B. carinata, all resistant to Phoma lingam, were used as gene donors in fusion experiments with hypocotyl protoplasts isolated from B. napus as the recipient. A toxin, sirodesmin PL, was used to select those fusion products in which the resistant gene(s) was present. In the fusion experiments different gene donors, various irradiation dosages and toxin treatments were combined. Symmetric and asymmetric hybrid plants were obtained from the cell cultures with and without toxin selection. Isozymes were used to verify hybrid characters in the symmetric hybrids, whereas two DNA probes were used to identify donor-DNA in the asymmetric hybrids. Resistance to P. lingam was expressed in all symmetric hybrids, and in 19 of 24 toxin-selected asymmetric hybrids, while all the unselected asymmetric hybrids were susceptible.

The potential of somatic hybridization in crop breeding

SummaryIn recent years, the rapid development of somatic cell genetics has made possible the transfer of alien genes over wide taxonomic distances by somatic hybridization. In this review, the potential of somatic hybridization in the breeding of crops within the Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Poaceae and Solanaceae is discussed. It is evident from these studies that many hybrids, either symmetric or asymmetric, which are fertile have the potential to be used as a bridge between the alien species and the crop. Progeny analysis of some hybrid combinations also reveals intergenomic translocations which may lead to the introgression of the alien genes. Furthermore, fusion techniques enable the resynthesis of allopolyploid crops to increase their genetic variability and to restore ploidy level and heterozygosity after breeding at reduced ploidy level in polyploid crops.

Gene transfer via somatic hybridization in plants

Abstract Successful plant protoplast culture and fusion techniques have now been developed for many crop species. This has stimulated hopes that the transfer of desirable traits between sexually incompatible species will prove to be a practical approach for the genetic improvement of crops.

Effects of parental ploidy level and genetic divergence on chromosome elimination and chloroplast segregation in somatic hybrids within Brassicaceae

SummaryChromosome and organelle segregation after the somatic hybridization of related species with different degrees of genetic divergence were studied by comparing the interspecific somatic hybrids Brassica oleracea (CC) (+) B. campestris (AA), B. napus (AACC) (+) B. oleracea (CC) B. napus (AACC) (+) B. nigra (BB) and B. napus (AACC) (+) B. juncea (AABB) with the intergeneric somatic hybrids B. napus (AACC) (+) Raphanus sativus (RR) and B. napus (AACC) (+) Eruca sativa (EE). Within each combination, some hybrids were found whose DNA content was equal to the sum of parental chromosomes, others had a relatively higher DNA content and in most of the cases, some had a relatively lower content. However, the frequency distribution in these three classes differed significantly between the combinations. A positive correlation between the frequency of hybrids with eliminated chromosomes and the genetic distance between the species in each combination was found. Furthermore, by combining species with different ploidy levels we found a significantly higher degree of chromosome elimination compared to combinations of species with the same ploidy level. In the B. napus (+) B. Nigra, B. napus (+) R. sativus and B. napus (+) E. sativa combinations chromosomes from the B, R and E genomes appeared to be preferentially sorted out, as indicated by the fact that some of the nuclear markers from these genomes were missing in 7–46% of the plants, whereas no plants were lacking B. napus nuclear markers. Fertile hybrids were found in all but the B. napus (+) R. sativus fusion combination; the latter hybrids were male sterile, but female fertile. Hybrids between the A and C genomes were more fertile than hybrids obtained between the distantly related AC and B, R or E genomes, respectively. Analysis of the chloroplast RFLP pattern revealed that chloroplasts in the B. oleracea (+) B. campestris hybrids segregated randomly. A slightly biased segregation, favouring B. napus chloroplasts, was found in the B. napus (+) B. oleracea combination, whereas B. napus chloroplasts were strongly selected for in the B. napus (+) B. juncea, B. napus (+) B. nigra, B. napus (+) R. sativus and B. napus (+) E. sativa somatic hybrids.

Fertility and chromosome stability in Brassica napus resynthesised by protoplast fusion

SummaryFertile somatic hybrids between Brassica campestris and B. oleracea have been produced by protoplast fusion. Fusion products were identified by their intermediate protoplast morphology. Heterokaryons were isolated either with micropipettes using a micromanipulator or by flow sorting. About 2% of the obtained calli differentiated to shoots. Of the shoots obtained from manually selected heterokaryons, 100% were true hybrids as confirmed by isozyme analysis while 87% of the flow sorted ones showed a hybrid pattern. Ploidy level of the hybrid plants was determined by chromosome counting and relative DNA-content analysis. The sum of the chromosome number (38) from the two fusion partners were found in 30% of the hybrids; 9% had fewer and 61% had more chromosomes. Pollen viability and seed set varied with ploidy level. Compared to natural B. napus, a pollen viability of 52%–93% and a fertility of 1%–40% was found for the somatic hybrids with normal chromosome number. Restriction enzyme analysis of chloroplast-DNA showed that either B. campestris or B. oleracea chloroplasts were present in the somatic hybrid plants. Of 11 hybrid plants 5 had the campestris and 6 had the oleracea type (1∶1 ratio).

Modifications of Mitochondrial DNA Cause Changes in Floral Development in Homeotic-like Mutants of Tobacco.

To investigate the influence of mitochondrial genes on stamen development of higher plants, protoplasts from three different, male-sterile tobacco cultivars were fused. The fused cells were cultured individually into calli, from which plants were regenerated. Cybrid plants were obtained that exhibited flowers with recombined biparental male-sterile morphology and with novel male-sterile stamens that differed from any types from sexual or somatic hybridizations described previously. The male-sterile morphologies of these cybrids and their parents support the hypothesis that nuclear-mitochondrial interaction occurs at several stages in tobacco floral development and that several mitochondrial genes are necessary for normal stamen and corolla development. Analysis by restriction endonuclease digestion of mitochondrial DNA of male-sterile cybrids and their parents revealed that the mitochondrial DNA of male-sterile cybrids with parental floral morphology was unchanged when compared with parental mitochondrial DNA. Cybrids that were morphologically similar to one parents male-sterile phenotype had mitochondrial DNA almost identical to that parent, whereas cybrids with recombined biparental or novel male-sterile phenotypes contained mitochondrial DNA different from both male-sterile parents and from each other. A set of mitochondrial DNA fragments could be correlated with split corollas, a feature found in several tobacco male-sterile cultivars. DNA gel blot analysis using a number of mitochondrial genes confirmed the conclusions based on ethidium bromide staining of mitochondrial DNA restriction digests.

UV dose-dependent DNA elimination in asymmetric somatic hybrids between Brassica napus and Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract To evaluate UV-irradiation as an alternative method for chromosome fragmentation in the production of asymmetric somatic hybrids, UV-irradiated protoplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana were fused with protoplasts of Brassica napus . The A. thaliana protoplasts were irradiated with doses between 780 and 28 080 J/m 2 ( λ =254 nm) and hybrid plants were obtained from experiments using doses of 780, 2340 and 4680 J/m 2 . In addition, a control fusion experiment without irradiation was performed. In total, 312 shoots were regenerated and of those 58 plants were analysed for presence of A. thaliana DNA, using 13 mapped A. thaliana RFLP markers (two to four per chromosome). Increased UV-irradiation dose resulted in a higher frequency of asymmetric hybrids and a higher dose was also associated with the generation of hybrids with a higher degree of asymmetry. RFLP data further indicated that irradiation primarily resulted in loss of chromosome fragments rather than whole chromosomes from A. thaliana . Fertility was studied in 119 hybrid plants by selfing as well as pollination by B. napus . The fertility after selfing increased with increasing UV-irradiation dose, while the results of back-crossing were not affected by the irradiation.

Brassica naponigra, a somatic hybrid resistant to Phoma lingam.

SummaryBrassica napus and B. nigra were combined via protoplast fusion into the novel hybrid Brassica naponigra. The heterokaryons were identified by fluorescent markers and selected by flow sorting. Thirty hybrid plants were confirmed by isozyme analysis to contain both B. nigra and B. napus chromosomes; of these, 20 plants had the sum of the parental chromosome numbers. A non-random segregation of the chloroplasts was found in the hybrids. Of 14 hybrid plants investigated, all had the B. napus type of chloroplast. The resistance to Phoma lingam found in the B. nigra cultivar used in the fusion experiments was expressed in 26 of the hybrid plants. The hybrids obtained in this study contain all of the three Brassica genomes (A, B and C) and have thus created unique possibilities for genetic exchanges between the genomes. Since most of the plants were fertile as well as resistant to P. lingam, they have been incorporated into conventional rapeseed breeding programs.