Production of improved plants having an increased tolerance to the presence of a normally deleterious concentration of a plurality of inorganic salts

摘要

A process is defined for providing plants of a nonhalophytic crop wherein the resulting plants have an enhanced ability to grow successfully in a soil comprising a normally deleterious concentration of a plurality of inorganic salts. Tissue culturing of a large quantity of plant cells initially is carried out under conditions wherein substantial disorganized cell growth takes place which is accompanied by genetic variation (e.g., via somaclonal variation), and the resulting cells subsequently are tissue cultured in a medium which is substantially lacking in a hormone component comprising a plurality of inorganic salts which are provided in a concentration which is normally injurious to cells of the crop wherein a substantial quantity of cells are killed and at least one cell survives and multiplies which has undergone genetic variation wherein an atypical functioning single gene is present which is dominant for increased tolerance to the totality of the inorganic salts present. Living cells which possess the desired genetic variation are recovered and are regenerated into improved plants. The highly desirable plant characteristics made possible by the present process readily can be transferred to subsequent generations in a highly stable manner via plant breeding thereby efficiently providing a new source of improved germ plasm. In a particularly preferred embodiment, improved flax plants and seed capable of forming the same are provided.