Development of ion beam breeding technology in plants and creation of useful plant resources

Hase, Yoshihiro; Nozawa, Shigeki; Asami, Itsuo*; Tanogashira, Yuki*; Matsuo, Yoichi*; Kanazawa, Akira*; Honda, Kazushige*; Narumi, Issey*

This study is aimed to develop ion beam breeding technology and useful plant resources. In the cooperative research with Aichi prefecture, 4 lines of chrysanthemum mutant, which have characteristic petals in a whole part of the flower head, were obtained from about 1,500 regenerated plants. The trial growing of one of the mutant lines was received well and further characterization will be performed. We also focus on improvement of trees and functional ingredients in crops because little knowledge has been accumulated in this area. We are developing the ion beam breeding technology in Citrus plants as a model for trees. The cut surfaces of hypocotyls were exposed to carbon ions and the regenerated plants were grown. There was a large difference in radiation sensitivity among 7 kinds of commercial varieties. The regeneration rate after 10 Gy irradiation was more than 90% in "Kawano-Natsudaidai" but was less than 10% in Trifoliate orange. Mutant plants with shorter internode were successfully obtained in "Imamura-unshu". In the cooperative research with Hokkaido University, soybean mutants with altered ingredients, such as isoflavones, proteins, fatty acids and starch, were obtained.