MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF PLANTS REGENERATED FROM EMBRYOGENIC CULTURES OF HYBRID SUGARCANE CULTIVARS (SACCHARUM SPP)

The genomic stability of tissue culture regenerants of sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids, cvs 'CP72-1210', 'CP68-1067' and 'B43-62') was analyzed by DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Plants regenerated from calli, cell suspensions, cryopreserved cell suspensions and protoplasts were used. Total DNA isolated from 19 different sources was digested with EcoRI, HindIII, BamHI, BamHI + EcoRI and PstI and probed with six known maize mitochondrial genes (coxI, coxII, atpA, atp6, atp9 and rrn18-rrn5), three random maize mitochondrial cosmid clones, two random maize chloroplast cosmid clones and a wheat Nor locus clone. Hybridization patterns indicated that the variation observed was minor and appeared only in the second-cycle regenerants. No differences were observed among the three cultivars and the regenerants from calli, suspension culture, cryopreserved suspension culture and protoplasts. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) isolated from 'CP72-1210' plants and its embryogenic cell suspensions, and bulk samples from all 'CP72-1210' regenerants pooled together were digested with EcoRI, HindIII, PstI, BamHI and SalI and probed with three recombinationally active wheat mtDNA clones, K', K3 and X2. No variation in the mtDNA restriction patterns was observed between the 'CP72-1210' plants and its regenerants. However, restriction pattern variation was observed only from EcoRI digestion, and hybridization patterns of K3, K' and X2 revealed minor variations in the mtDNA of cell suspensions when compared with the DNA of the 'CP72-1210' plant. Except for a qualitative variation detected by the X2 probe and minor stoichiometric variations detected by the K3 probe, sugarcane DNAs were found to be stable after plant regeneration.