Haploid Plant Production in Borage (Borago officinalis L.) by Anther Culture

Borage (Borago officinalis L.) is a crop with different culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial properties. Besides, it is one of the best known sources of gamma linolenic acid (GLA). However, the variability in the levels of such active compounds, obtained from wild borage, may result in conflicting clinical trial reports, which may likely decrease the optimal efficiency of the product. On the other hand, this important medicinal plant has a multifactorial self-incompatibility system, which makes self-pollination ineffective and results in a limited production of pure (homozygous) lines for breeding programs. To avoid the limitations of self-incompatibility and also producing uniform lines useful as parents for F₁ hybrid production, or as starting materials to develop new varieties with high and homogenous levels of medicinal compounds, androgenic doubled haploid (DH) lines produced by anther culture have the potential to speed up the process of producing homozygous lines for breeding program of this medicinal species. In the present chapter, a protocol for production of haploid plants in borage by in vitro anther culture is described.