Temperature controls both gametophytic and sporophytic development in microspore cultures of Brassica napus

• Published in: Plant cell reports Vol. 13; no. 5; p. 267
• Main Authors: Custers, J B, Cordewener, J H, Nöllen, Y, Dons, H J, Van Lockeren Campagne, M M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany 01.02.1994
• ISSN: 0721-7714
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00233317

Temperature controls the developmental fate of isolated Brassica napus microspores in vitro. Culture at 32.5°C leads to sporophytic development and the formation of embryos. Here we show that culture at 17.5°C leads to gametophytic development, and the formation of pollen-like structures at high frequencies (up to 80% after 7 days in culture). Early stages of both developmental pathways are observed in culture at 25.0°C, and embryos are produced at low frequencies (0.7%) at that temperature. Culturing B. napus microspores at 32.5°C versus 17.5°C brings the switch from gametophytic to sporophytic development under simple experimental control and provides a convenient tool for investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling this developmental switch.