Anther culture of Hordeum vulgare L.: a genetic study of microspore callus production and differentiation.

The inheritance of the ability of barley anthers to produce microspore-derived callus in vitro was investigated. The genotypes selected were the two spring cultivars 'Dissa' (D) and 'Sabarlis' (S), the two F1 hybrids (DxS, SxD), the two backcross generations [Dx(DxS), Sx(DxS)], and an F2 generation derived from DxS. From a number of individuals of each generation, the first five spikes were harvested sequentially and after pre-treatment the anthers were removed and placed in culture. Cultures were scored for microspore callus production and plantlet differentiation. Although 'Dissa' gave a significantly higher level of callus production than 'Sabarlis', the overall frequencies of green and albino plant production were higher from 'Sabarlis'. There was no significant difference between reciprocal F1 hybrids. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences in response between the spikes sampled from the plants. This was the major source of variation in the experiment. Spike to spike variation also appeared to be a heritable character.