The Doubled Haploid Facility At Iowa State University.

The development of homozygous lines is an important, but time-consuming process in plant breeding and research. The in vivo induction and subsequent doubling of haploids is an efficient alternative to generate homozygous offspring in two generations. The Doubled Haploid Facility (DHF), established in 2010,  provides haploid doubling for maize to ISU scientists, as well as off-campus academic researchers and breeders. The mission of DHF is to provide expertise and service in the production of doubled haploid lines in maize, to improve the technology in order to get higher success rates and lower costs, and to teach and train scientists and students (http://www.plantbreeding.iastate.edu/DHF/DHF.htm). Our research objectives are (1) marker development for induction ability, (2) development of inducer lines adapted to different environments, (3) development of technologies for mechanical pre-sorting in haploid selection, (4) introduction of additional selective marker for haploid selection, and (5) finding alternatives to colchicine for chromosome doubling.