Somaclonal variation in rye

We studied the genetic variation generated during in vitro culture of rye Secale cereale L. We analyzed the progenies of four generations of the plants regenerated from immature embryo cultures. A high frequency of mutant plants was observed, 50.75%, this frequency was genotype dependent. Other characteristics typical of somaclonal variation were also observed: the obtaining of dominant mutations, the presence of more than one mutation per plant, the obtaining of homozygous mutants and a high rate of mutation of particular loci. In some cases transposable elements could be implicated. We postulate that tissue culture could induce mutations as well as select particular cell types and so increase the appearance of special mutants.