U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska
Date of this Version
1997
Abstract
Interest is high in the genetic study and improvement of sorghum(Sorghum bicolor L. Moench), a crop of worldwide agronomic importance. The ability to initiate and maintain high quality (pigmentless, mucilage-free, fast growing, type II) callus cultures from a variety of sorghum genotypes is important for certain tissue culture-based genetic studies. The objective of this study was to identify high-quality callus-producing genotypes from a group of 41 diverse inbred sorghum lines. Callus cultures of 20 elite inbred sorghum genotypes and 21 inbred genotypes of exotic background were initiated from immature inflorescences. The cultures were subjected to several cycles of subculturing with selection for high quality callus growth, then rated for the callus quality traits pigment/tannin production, mucilage production, embryogenesis, and friability. Genotypic effects on each of the traits was highly significant. The range in quality of callus produced by different sorghum genotypes was large. Based on mean ratings assigned for each of the traits, 7 elite inbred genotypes and 5 nonelite genotypes were identified as producers of high quality callus.
Comments
Published in Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 48: 71–75, 1997.