Chromosome variation in wheat plants regenerated from cultured immature embryos

Abstract

A cytological study has been made of plants regenerated from cultured immature embryos of four wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum, 2n = 6x = 42). In total, 29% of the 192 plants examined were aneuploid with a range in chromosome numbers of 38-45. Evidence of chromosome structural changes was also found. This variation occurred in regenerants of all four cultivars, but there were large differences in the proportions of aneuploids arising from individual cultures which meant that no significant differences could be demonstrated between cultivars. Chromosome abnormalities were present in plants regenerated both from embryogenic cultures and from cultures in which the origin of shoots could not be distinctly defined.