Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi (Online), vol.13, pp.155-163, 1997 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Inefficient
selection and screening procedure and lack of genetic variation in some
varieties reveal necessity of finding new sources for selection of desirable
variants in plant breeding. Although mutation techniques and wild species
obtain from gene banks have been used for increasing of genetic variation,
somaclonal variation (genetic variation induced by cell and tissue culture)
offers a great opportunity to increase the genetic variations of crops. The occurrence of somaclonal
variation has been stressed by numerous researchers and displayed in many crops
(1; 2). Somaclonal variation is successfully
applied for selection of agronomically important traits such as disease and
stress resistant variants in plant breeding. Factors affecting somaclonal variation are described in
this review.
Key
words: Somaclonal variation, in vitro selection, tissue
culture