Chromosomal regions associated with the in vitro culture response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) microspores

Generation of doubled haploid plants is a powerful tool in breeding, as homozygous individuals will be obtained directly from hybrids. However, genotype variability in regeneration efficiency of most European wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties has limited its use in wheat. This study intended to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for green plantlet regeneration from wheat microspore cultures. A QTL analysis using DArT markers was conducted based on a bi-parental F-3 population, derived from a cross between the varieties Svilena and Jensen, which displayed markedly different capacity for plantlet regeneration. Two QTLs on chromosome 1B and 7B explained 53% of the variation in green plantlet regeneration. Furthermore, a collection of 94 European wheat varieties was genotyped and phenotyped. The microspore response level was low among western and northern European wheat varieties, and the positive QTLs found in the bi-parental population were rare in the variety collection. Identification of the two QTLs enables introduction of high regeneration efficiency into wheat germplasm. Moreover, our results proved that the efficient regeneration observed for one variety could be crossed into modern winter wheat.