Question

Which of the following techniques can be helpful in over-coming hybridization barrier?

• A. Shoot tip culture
• B. Embryo rescue
• C. Protoplast fusion
• D. Both B and C

Answer 1

The correct option is D Both B and C

Shoot-tip culture refers to the culture of the terminal portion of a shoot comprising the shoot apical meristem together with primordial and developing leaves and adjacent stem tissue; it is used for the production of virus-free plants. Embryo rescue refers to the culture of the immature embryo to overcome the post-fertilization barriers that result in starvation and abortion of hybrid embryo. Protoplast fusion is a method to create genetic modification in plants by fusion of protoplast from two distinct species of plants to form a new hybrid plant with the characteristics of both, a somatic hybrid. Thus, protoplast fusion overcomes the incompatibility barriers and allows fusion of nuclear genome or plastome of two taxonomically distant plant species which otherwise do not interbreed.

Thus, the correct answer is option D.