5.  Applications of Somaclonal Variations

i.  Variability generated at the genetic level proves to be a source of crop improvement which can be greatly beneficial to plant breeders.

ii.  Distinctive mutations may sometimes give rise to elite characters in the regenerants which cannot be achieved by conventional methods of breeding.

iii.  Disease resistant genotypes of various plants can be attained. Resistance was first reported in sugarcane for eye spot disease (Heliminthosporium sacchari) and Fiji virus disease by regenerating plants from callus of susceptible clones.

iv.  Plants with characteristic resistance to abiotic stress (cold, draught, acidic or alkaline soil) can be obtained as somaclones.

v.  Somatic genome exchange may give rise to regenerants where a part of alien genome can be introgressed thereby leading to germplasm widening.

 

6.  Limitations of Somaclonal variations

i.  Poor plant regeneration from long-term cultures of various cell lines.

ii.  Regeneration being limited to specific genotypes which may not be of much interest to breeders.

iii.  Some somaclones have undesirable features, such as aneuploidy, sterility etc.

iv.  Unpredictable variations that are often generated are of no use.

v.  Variations attained may not always be stably integrated.

vi.  Variants attained may not always be novel. In majority of cases improved variants are not even selected for breeding programs.