Effect of Temperature Stress on Androgenesis Induction in Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) by Anther Culture

In order to obtain hybrid seeds, utilizing of homozygous lines in breeding programs is inevitable. These lines can be produced by conventional and biotechnological methods. Conventional methods are time consuming and expensive, but there is a high potential of using androgenesis for producing haploid and doubled haploid lines in plants. Anther culture is commonly used for obtaining haploids and doubled haploids in many plants. Induction conditions of androgenesis are critical to succeed in obtaining androgenic plantlets. Temperature stress is one of the factors which play an important role in androgenesis induction. To improve anther culture efficiency in bell pepper, the effects of six different temperatures (4, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36 degrees C) and stress duration (four and six days) were studied on anther callogenesis, embryogenesis and plant regeneration traits on four F-1 commercial hybrids namely Camelot, Inspiration, Plato and Californium. Among the applied treatments, the maximum rates of callogenesis (95% and 91.67%) were obtained in 36 degrees C for six days in cultivars Inspiration and Camelot, respectively. The maximum rates of anther embryogenesis (11.67%) and plant regeneration (8.33%) were observed at 35 degrees C for six days in cultivar Camelot.