Doubled haploid production in onion (Allium cepa L.): from gynogenesis to chromosome doubling

Key Message In onion, doubled haploids (DHs) were generated by gynogenesis using in vitro culturing of unfertilized ovules, ovaries or whole flowers. Genotype, geographical origin, photoperiodicity and genetic structure all affect gynogenic efficiency in onion. Despite higher doubling efficiencies, there are several disadvantages with induced chromosome doubling inlcuding low survival rates of explants, cytotoxicity, vitrification and polyploidization. Bulb onion (Allium cepa L.) is an allogamous diploid (2n = 16) important for its culinary uses, nutritional value, and medicinal benefits. Despite its economic importance, onion yields and bulb quality are declining, emphasizing the need for new and improved strategies for maintaining and enhancing overall crop quality. Development of inbred lines in onion through traditional breeding is often difficult due to its biennial life cycle, inbreeding depression, and comparatively high heterozygosities. Moreover, genetic research in onion has been hampered by large nuclear genome size. In this regard, gynogenic doubled haploids promise several advantages over inbred lines in support of onion breeding programs and genetic studies. These include complete homozygosity in doubled haploid lines, reduced DNA methylation, elimination of deleterious alleles, and amenability to genetic analysis. This review focuses on the application of in vitro gynogenesis for producing doubled haploids in onion. Factors influencing haploid induction, methods for inducing chromosome doubling and ploidy assessment, evaluation of haploid progenies and doubled haploid lines, and features of doubled haploids potentially useful in crop improvement and genetic studies, are discussed. We identify four major limitations to the success and efficiency of in vitro gynogenesis in onion and discuss strategies for mitigating the negative impacts they pose. This review may be useful to research programs producing doubled haploids in onion or other Allium species using in vitro gynogenesis.