Overview of Barley Doubled Haploid Production

Abstract

Production of haploids in barley has been widely used for many years for breeding and breeding method research. Initially the Bulbosum method was available and provided a good random sample of female gametes as plants. Anther culture (male gametes) improved more gradually but has been widely used and more recently, isolated microspore culture has been perfected for barley breeding programmes and research. Thus, barley is now considered the cereal model crop species for haploid production and research. Doubled haploid populations have been extensively utilized in molecular marker work in barley providing detailed chromosome maps. Barley microspores are often selected for biochemical and cytological investigations of androgenesis. With the advancement in molecular, biochemical and cytological tools, haploid research has shifted to sequencing of DNA and transcriptome analyses that reveals hundreds of genes are involved in induction and embryogenesis from microspores. These genes can be identified and associated with various biochemical pathways and the proteins and enzymes involved. Transformation in barley is progressing well using haploid systems.