In this section:
Cell Culture & Doubled Haploids
The doubled haploid (DH) and cell culture unit specialises in the application of in vitro culture technology to plant breeding.
Unit leader, Dr Phil Davies has been instrumental in developing the doubled haploid technology used by other laboratories across Australia and several overseas.
Located at the Waite Research Precinct, the unit is well staffed and well equipped. It has access to greenhouses and controlled environment growth rooms in the SARDI Plant Research Centre as well as in the Plant Cell Culture Facility in the University of Adelaide Waite Building.
Technology
Doubled haploid and in vitro selection technologies can assist in the improvement of all plant traits, eg yield, grain quality, oil content, disease resistance, nutrient efficiency and competitiveness.
- DHs assist breeding programs to produce new varieties 3-5 years earlier than with conventional methods alone;
- DHs improve reliability of selection;
- DHs increase frequency of favourable genotypes;
- In vitro selection is a new tool being developed to enhance efficiency of selection;
- Inter-specific hybridisation is a technique being developed to incorporate useful genes from related crops species.
Contract Services
- We provide DH populations of wheat and barley to commercial customers.
- Costs vary between $15 - $50 per DH line.
- The program currently produces up to 20,000 DHs per annum.
Research Program
Current research programs include:
- Methods for improving the efficiency of barley, wheat, field pea and oat DH production;
- In vitro selection in barley;
- Methods for doubled haploid production and interspecific hybridisation in pea and vetch;
- Interspecific hybridisation for introduction of rust resistance to oats.
General information on DH in plant breeding (.PDF)
Contact Cell Culture and Doubled Haploid staff
Funding Partners:
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