Irradiated pollen-induced parthenogenesis for doubled haploid production in sunflower (Helianthus spp.)

Authors: WANG, HONGXIA - Former ARS Employee; HOU, HONGYAN - Minnesota State University; Jan, Chao-Chien; Chao, Wun

Submitted to: Plants
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/20/2023
Publication Date: 6/23/2023
Citation: Wang, H., Hou, H., Jan, C., Chao, W.S. 2023. Irradiated pollen-induced parthenogenesis for doubled haploid production in sunflower (Helianthus spp.). Plants. 12. Article 2430. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12132430.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12132430

Interpretive Summary: Doubled haploid (DH) technology offers a fast way to develop genetically pure inbred plants for breeding programs, and gamma-irradiated pollen grains can be used to pollinate female sunflower heads for DH plants production. The purposes of this study were to develop an efficient and ease of implementation protocol for DH induction in sunflower (Helianthus spp.) and to identify effective male pollinators for gamma ray treatment. To identify optimal gamma ray doses for inducing DH sunflower, pollen grains were irradiated with gamma ray doses ranging from 50 to 200 Gy (gray: unit of gamma ray dose). The optimal gamma ray dose for pollen grain irradiation and DH plants production was identified to be 100 Gy. In addition, a cultivated (G11/1440) and a wild type (ANN1811) sunflower line can be used as common male pollinators for induction of DH in desired sunflower lines using gamma-irradiated pollen grains.

Technical Abstract: Doubled haploid (DH) technology is a tool to develop large numbers of inbred lines and increase the rate of genetic gain by shortening the breeding cycles. However, previous attempts to produce DH sunflower plants (Helianthus spp.) have resulted in limited success. In this research, we applied gamma-induced parthenogenesis to assist the production of DH sunflower. The objectives of the study included (1) identifying optimal gamma ray doses for inducing DH sunflower using two cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) lines as female plants and two male pollinators with recognizable morphological markers, (2) selecting new male pollinators from wild sunflower varieties, and (3) testing efficacy of the selected male pollinators using emasculated non-male sterile sunflower lines as female plants. In these experiments, pollen grains were irradiated with gamma ray doses ranging from 50 to 200 Gy. The optimal gamma ray dose for pollen grain irradiation and DH plants production was identified to be100 Gy. In addition, a cultivated (G11/1440) and a wild type (ANN1811) sunflower line can be used as common male pollinators for their distinctive morphological markers and wide capacity of DH induction by gamma-irradiated pollen grains.