Established a plant embryo rescue laboratory at Urna Vitae LLC for use in ornamental plant breeding. Designed layout and specified and procured equipment including laminar flow hood, dissecting microscope, sterilizers and light shelves. Laboratory is used to rescue embryos at globular to fully developed stages from interspecific and intergeneric hybrids.
| Company: Urna Vitae LLC |
Embryo rescue is a powerful tool that allows plant breeders to produce interspecific and even intergeneric hybrids between species that are otherwise not cross compatible. It relies on the observation that often fertilization occurs in these crosses but the embryos abort before they are fully developed. By removing the immature embryos from the seed parent and culturing them in vitro, these hybrid embryos can be induced to develop into plants.
The Urna Vitae embryo rescue laboratory was set up in 2013 to support the ornamental perennial sunflower breeding program. The laboratory has adapted protocols developed for crop sunflower to ornamental perennial sunflower embryo rescue and to date has produced over 900 Helianthus interspecific and intergeneric hybrids. The companion micropropagation laboratory is used to multiply and chromosome double these hybrids.
