POTENTIAL OF ANTHER CULTURE IN BREEDING FOR FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT RESISTANCE IN WHEAT

Androgenic responses of Triticum aestivum cvs. Marquis, a Fusarium head blight (FHB) susceptible Canadian cv., and Wangshui Bai, a FHB resistant Chinese cv., and their Fl hybrids are reported. Marquis anthers responded well in culture with a callus induction frequency (CIF) of 19.7%, and produced 3.9 green plants/100 plated anthers but Wangshui Bai was a poor responder, having a CIF of 4.4% and produced only albino plants (1.4/100 anthers) . Nevertheless, doubled haploid (DH) plants were recovered from the Fl progeny of reciprocal crosses of these cultivars. Anthers from the first three emerging spikes of Fl hybrids (Marquis x Wangshui Bai) showed responses intermediate to the parental lines; CIF 14% and green plant regeneration of 0.3/100 anthers. Anthers from later emerging spikes had CIFs of 5-8% and zero green plant production. Screening of the DH hybrids for FHB resistance by an in vitro growth assay and subsequently by field inoculation trials indicated that approximately one half of the DH lines were resistant to FHB. This unexpectantly high ratio of resistant lines suggests that the susceptible cv. Marquis must also carry minor resistance factors that were transferred to the DH lines. It is concluded that the DH approach will be useful for genetic analyses of resistance and for breeding Fusarium resistance into Canadian cultivars.