Anther Culture of Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris)

Joseph Rothleutner

Published May 2016 International Oaks No. 27: 149–154

Abstract

Oaks are difficult to breed by traditional methods because of the length of time required for trees to reach maturity, the large space needed to evaluate and maintain individuals, and their outcrossing behavior which leads to a high level of heterozygosity. Anther culture and creation of doubled haploids may be a way to significantly speed up the breeding process and achieve otherwise impossible breeding goals. In the creation of a doubled haploid, total homozygosity is achieved. With total homozygosity we will uncover recessive traits that are usually hidden in oaks, some of these traits may be of ornamental merit or be otherwise useful. Additionally, plants that are homozygous at all loci act as inbred lines, and by crossing two inbred lines, uniform F1 hybrids could be created. By selection of superior parent lines and ideal parent combinations, uniform F1 hybrid oak seed may be a mechanism for both nursery and forestry industries to achieve a consistent crop that behaves like seed-derived clones. In this article we explore the first steps towards regenerating plants from anthers and discuss potential applications of anther culture for oaks.

Keywords

tissue culture, double haploid, ploidy, breeding, androgenesis

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