Artificially Synthesized Species and Genera

The artificial colchicine treatment or spontaneous chromosome doubling of interspecific/intergeneric hybrids can generate amphiploids that can set seeds. Using this strategy, many newly synthetic species or genus was produced. Some species, such as rye (Secale), Haynaldia, and Lophopyrum, are very easy to cross with wheat to produce hybrids even without special treatments such as embryo rescues. Generally, seedlings of intergeneric hybridization in Triticeae can be obtained by rescues of immature embryos at 14 days (sometimes 7 days) after cross-pollination. More distant hybridization such as wheat-maize can be also possible (Laurie and Bennett, 1986, 1987). Some successful examples of interspecific and intergeneric hybridization are shown in Table 11.1.