Influence of genotype, growth regulators and sucrose concentration on linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) anther culture

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), a member of the family Linaceae, is an important crop in Europe for the production of both oil and fibre. Breeding of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) using haploid techniques allows breeders to develop new cultivars in a shorter time period. However, the overall efficiency of plant regeneration is not efficient, therefore, identification of responsive genotypes and improvement of protocols are the prerequisite to an applied breeding programs. The effects of induction medium compositions on linseed anther culture were investigated in order to improve the efficiency of plant regeneration on 6 cultivars using MS medium with different growth regulator combinations and sucrose level to allow identifation a number of responsible genotypes. Variable callogenic responses were expressed by all of the genotypes tested on different induction media. The results suggested that specific combination of growth regulators and sucrose concentration for callus induction must be designed for each genotype. Differences in adventitious shoot formation frequency among genotypes were demonstrated and four responsive genotypes were selected. The highest adventitious shoot formation frequencies with a high number of shoots per explant were obtained from cultivar 'Mikael' anther derived callus. The optimum ratio of growth regulators for shoot regeneration was shown to depend on the genotype. Cultivars 'Barbara' and 'Lirina' showed the highest shoot regeneration frequency when callus had inducted in medium supplemented with 2 mg l(-1) BAP and 1 mg l(-1) NAA while combination of 1 mg l(-1) BAP and 2 mg l(-1) IAA promoted shoot formation in anther-derived callus of 'Mikael' and 'Dnepr-2'.