Breeding of Vegetable, Spice and Tuber crops (2+1)

Somatic hybridization

• Somatic hybridization allows fusion of complete cytoplasm of two parents. The cytoplasm mix, obtained offers the opportunity of producing hybrids.

Their role in crop improvement programme

• Somatic cell fusions have been successfully employed for resynthesis of Brassica napus by fusing protoplasts of B.oleracea and B.compestris.
• Cytoplasmic male sterile gene(s) can also be transferred in vegetables like onion and carrots to produce hybrid seed cheaply.
• Hexaploid hybrid resulting from protopast fusion of Solanum brevidem x S. tuberosum, which show reisistance to leaf roll virus and race ‘O’ of late blight.
• Also protoplast fusion of Solanum melongena x S.sisymbrifolium show reisistance to phomopsis blight.
• Fusion between sexually incompatible members of the same family has produced hybrid plants that retain some chromosome numbers of both parents. The best known example is the ‘pomato’ which is potato – tomato somatic hybrid.