Protoplast isolation and culture for somatic hybridisation of rapid cycling Brassica rapa with ‘Anand’ CMS and Brassica juncea

Protoplasts were isolated from the young leaves of rapid cycling Brassica rapa and cotyledons and hypocotyls of 10-day-old Brassica juncea seedlings. Protoplasts were fused by 40% polyethylene glycol and cultured in modified K8p medium supplemented with 2.5 mg·l −1 isopentenyladenine (2ip), 0.5 mg·l −1 naphthaleneacetic acid, 1 mg·l −1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 0.1 mg·l −1 zeatin, 1% dimethyl sulfoxide, and 0.4 M mannitol as osmoticum. After 3 days of initial culture, 3 different culture methods were employed and evaluated. The highest plating efficiency (1.97%) was obtained with a semi-solid agarose embedding culture method. Both shoots and somatic embryos formed from protoplast culture-derived calli. The somatic embryos were derived from asymmetrically divided calli that developed progressively into deep-purple heart shapes as well as the early-torpedo and bipolar stages to finally form complete plantlets. Thirteen putative somatic hybrids were produced via somatic embryogenesis or organogenesis. Random amplified polymorphism DNA analysis was performed to identify somatic hybrids. Six regenerated plants had a chromosome number of 2n = 56 the same as the sum of B. juncea (2n = 36) and B. rapa (2n = 20) chromosomes; 2 plants had a chromosome number of 2n = 54. These regenerated plants exhibited morphology intermediate to those of their parents. The flowers of somatic hybrids exhibited a range of variation; some were normal, while others were abnormal. No pollen was produced from regenerated plants. Two plants had crinkled petal-like stamens.