Genetic improvement of medicinal and aromatic plants through haploid and double haploid development

Abstract

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) produce secondary metabolites that are pharmacologically and economically important. These compounds are distributed/limited in a particular species, genus, or family and are reported to play an important ecological role like pollinator attractants, adaptations to environmental and biological stresses (chemical defenses). The concentration of these secondary metabolites is very low and highly variable, thus making them high-value low-volume products. Advances in biotechnology, particularly haploid and double haploid (DH) production, have opened new avenues for breeding, genetics, transformation, and mapping studies in these MAPs. This will allow means for the commercial exploitation of such rare plants and the chemicals they produce in medicines, aromatic industries, and plant growth and for insect and weed control. This chapter details the different methods of producing haploids and DHs, factors influencing their generation, and their use in genetic improvement of these MAPs. Few MAP species in which haploid and DHs have been studied are also briefly discussed.