Regeneration and Differentiation of Protoplasts in Grain Legumes

Somatic hybridization following protoplast fusion is a reliable tool to combine genotypes which are difficult to cross sexually Since the first report of sustained division and regeneration of plants from protoplasts in Nicotiana tabacum, success has been achieved in many plant families. Unfortunately, unlike other plants, regeneration of protoplasts of chief food crops have proved difficult though sporadic reports are available (Hammatt et al. 1986). Regeneration of plants from protoplasts of a few forage legumes have been achieved, but grain legumes are relatively retractable to available culture stategies. We have investigated regeneration potential of different species of the genus Vigna in order to use them for our future somatic hybridization programme.