Field Assessment of Somaclonal Variation in Wheat

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Abstract
Maddock, S. E. and Semple, J. T. 1986. Field assessment of somaclonal variation in wheat.—J. exp. Bot. 37: 1065–1078. More than 800 wheat lines derived from plants regenerated in tissue culture have been grown in field trials comparable to those in the standard plant breeding programme at Nickerson R.P.B. Ltd. The majority of lines (∼ 95%) were healthy, uniform and similar to seed-derived control material. However, examples of variation in the regenerated lines were also observed, the most noticeable differences being those in height and morphology. Three hundred of these lines were also tested in the next generation, and many of the changes were found to be stable. The significance of somaclonal variation is considered with regard to plant breeding and to the use of novel genetic manipulation techniques.