The effects of parthenogenesis on wheat embryo formation and haploid production with and without maize pollination

Doubled haploid (DH) lines are important in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding, and haploids produced via maize pollination precede DH line development. Although maize pollination has proven reliable and broadly applicable to wheat, its success is determined by the wheat and maize genotypes employed. A wheat genotype consisting of nuclear and cytoplasm components predisposing it to parthenogenesis was compared with three other genotypes, each possessing only one or neither component necessary for parthenogenesis. In a glasshouse experiment, each genotype was pollinated with maize and subsequently treated with a2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (2,4-D) solution to determine if parthenogenesis affected embryo formation frequency (EFF)and haploid formation efficiency (HFE). Wheat genotypes were also treated with the2,4-D solution alone to determine if embryos and haploid plants could be produced in vivo without maize pollination. ‘Salmon(K)’, a parthenogenetic genotype consisting of a Salmon 1BL.1RS nucleus in a Ae. kotschyii cytoplasm, had a mean EFF of 32%; whereas, the non-parthenogenetic genotypes had mean EFF calculations ranging from 7 to 21%. Mean HFE for Salmon(K) was not significantly different than the mean HFE for non-parthenogenetic Salmon; however, EFF and HFE calculations for Salmon(K) and Salmon, each with a 1BL.1RS translocation, were generally higher than calculations for genotypes without the translocation. Salmon(K) was the only genotype to produce a 3% or higher EFF and HFE after treatment with 2,4-D alone. Parthenogenesis significantly affected the frequency at which embryos were produced after pollination with maize and the frequency at which embryos and haploid plants were produced after treatment with 2,4-D alone.