INVITRO SHOOT CULTURE OF WILD ORYZAE AND OTHER GRASS SPECIES

A method was developed for the in vitro clonal propagation of shoots from a range of wild rice and other grass species that have important genetic traits such as drought resistance and salinity tolerance. The axenic multiple shoot cultures, which were suitable for DNA and protein extraction or direct protoplast isolation, could be maintained without subculture for between 2 and 3 months or rapidly multiplied for the subsequent production of mature plants and seeds. Basal sections of the micropropagated shoots also provided novel explants for the production of highly embryogenic callus, from some species, that could be regenerated into green plants. It is envisaged that this clonal propagation technique could aid the genetic manipulation,of cultivated rice by providing a means to vegetatively conserve valuable genetic resources, a technique to rapidly multiply novel hybrid material and a source of embryogenic callus that will allow the application of biotechnological techniques, such as somatic hybridization and genetic transformation, to previously unexploited species.