Applications of Somatic Hybridization
Some of the applications of somatic hybridisation are:
- Crop Improvement: Somatic hybridization is used to develop crop varieties with desirable traits such as disease resistance, stress tolerance, and improved yield.
- Genetic Diversity Enhancement: By combining genetic material from different plant species, somatic hybridization contributes to the enrichment of genetic diversity in breeding programs.
- Creation of Novel Varieties: This technique enables the creation of novel plant varieties with unique combinations of traits not found in traditional breeding programs.
- Biotechnological Research: Somatic hybridization is instrumental in studying gene expression, functional genomics, and understanding the mechanisms of plant development and stress responses.
- Disease Resistance: Disease-resistance genes have been able to spread from one plant to many others due to somatic hybridization. The spotted wilt virus, TMV, insect pests, and cold tolerance can no longer harm tomatoes.
What is Somatic Hybridization?
Somatic hybridization is a technique of fusing protoplasts from different plant species to create hybrid plants. It is different from conventional ways involving sexual hybridization because it does not need sexual reproduction. Instead, it combines traits from different plants without being limited by species barriers. In this article, we will cover somatic hybridization notes, steps, and its applications.
Table of Content
- What is Somatic Hybridization?
- What are the Stages of Somatic Hybridization?
- Protoplast Fusion
- Hybrid Cell Selection
- Identifying Hybrid Plants
- Applications of Somatic Hybridization
- Somatic Hybridization Examples
- Advantages of Somatic Hybridization
- Limitations of Somatic Hybridization
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