Efficient regeneration of fertile plants from protoplasts isolated from microspore cultures of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

Cultures of isolated microspores of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Kymppi, an elite cultivar of malting barley) were used for isolation of protoplasts. The protoplasts were cultured embedded in agarose. The plating efficiency varied from 0.002% to 0.015%. Several hundred green plants were regenerated from the cultures. Plantlets regenerated from protoplasts were potted in soil within 4-5 months of collecting the spikes for microspore culture and the first plants are now setting seed.