Relationship between anther culture response and aluminium tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

A combination of in vivo and in vitro selection methods were used to increase aluminium tolerance in wheat using wheat x triticale crosses. Both in vivo and in vitro aluminium treatments significantly influenced the anther culture response. In vivo selection at the seedling stage resulted in significantly higher embryo induction. On induction media containing aluminium, the embryoid induction frequency dropped significantly, but there was an increase in the green plant regeneration frequency. In spite of this effect, all doubled haploid (DH) lines were more tolerant to aluminium in seedling tests than the winter wheat parent. The application of in vivo aluminium selection, before the start of anther culture, increased the probability of obtaining DH lines with significantly higher tolerance, compared to the original population. After three selection cycles of the original populations, there was a significant difference in the root regrowth rate of tolerant and sensitive plants. Both sensitive and tolerant plants showed a decrease due to the presence of aluminium in the induction media, with a greater decrease occurring in sensitive plants. Correlation between the rate of root regrowth in the seedling test and the change in embryo induction was positive, but moderate, emphasising the fact that plants with higher root regrowth tended to be more tolerant of the presence of aluminium in the induction medium. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.