Haplodiploid androgenetic breeding in oat: genotypic variation in anther size and microspore development stage

Abstract

Oat (Avena spp.) is poorly responsive to the haplodiploidization process, which leads to the production of homozygous lines in one step, increasing breeding efficiency. Androgenetic haploids in small grain cereal crops are obtained from microspores cultured at the mononucleate stage, which can be identified by the size of anthers. In order to identify the appropriate anther size for in vitro culture, microspore cytological analyses were made in Avena sativa cultivars UPF 7, UPF 18, UFRGS 14, Stout and Avena sterilis CAV 3361, cultivated in growth chamber under controlled light and temperature conditions. Variation was observed within and among genotypes for anther size at each microspore developmental stage and according to the position of spikelets in the panicle. Architecture variation in panicle shape and non-linear microsporogenesis maturation increased the challenge of identifying potentially androgenetic oat anthers. Cytological screening before culture is critical in identifying microspores at the right stage for oat androgenesis.