Microspore culture in Brassica napus - a method for haploid production and a model system for studying embryogenesis in plants.

The products of microscope culture have unique applications in plant breeding and studies of plant genetics. Furthermore, the culture system provides a useful model for studying the changes that occur during developmental processes in plants. In particular, haploid plants and tissues can be used: 1) to rapidly fix traits in a homozygous state (thus reducing cultivar development time); 2) to simplify the inheritance patterns of plant traits; 3) for in vitro selection and 4) to examine cellular and molecular changes that accompany embryogenesis in plants.