Question

Somatic hybridization is

• A. Mixing nuclei of two different somatic cells.
• B. Allowing the fusion of far related species.
• C. Fusing nucleus of plant cell with animal cell.
• D. Fusion of gametic nucleus with nucleus of somatic cell.

Answer 1

The correct option is B Allowing the fusion of far related species.

It is fusion between isolated somatic protoplasts under in vitro conditions and subsequent development of their product to a hybrid plant is known as somatic hybridization.
Characteristics of somatic hybridization :
1. Somatic cell fusion appears to be the only means through, which two different parental genomes can be recombined among plants that cannot reproduce sexually (asexual or sterile).
2. Protoplasts of sexually sterile (haploid, triploid, and aneuploid) plants can be fused to produce fertile diploids and polyploids.
3. Somatic cell fusion overcomes sexual incompatibility barriers. In some cases somatic hybrids between two incompatible plants have also found application in industry or agriculture.
4. Somatic cell fusion is useful in the study of cytoplasmic genes and their activities and this information can be applied in plant breeding experiments.