Dissecting plant chromosomes by the use of ionizing radiation

Abstract

Radiation treatment of genomes is used to generate chromosome breaks for numerous applications. This protocol describes the preparation of seeds and the determination of the optimal level of irradiation dosage for the creation of a radiation hybrid (RH) population. These RH lines can be used to generate high-­ resolution physical maps for the assembly of sequenced genomes as well as the fine mapping of genes. This procedure can also be used for mutation breeding and forward/reverse genetics.