The selection of mosaic (MSC) phenotype after passage of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) through cell culture ? a method to obtain plant mitochondrial mutants
Mosaic (MSC) mutants of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) appear after passage through cell cultures. The MSC phenotype shows paternal transmission and is associated with mitochondrial DNA rearrangements. This review describes the origins and phenotypes of independently produced MSC mutants of cucumber, including current knowledge on their mitochondrial DNA rearrangements, and similarities of MSC with other plant mitochondrial mutants. Finally we propose that passage of cucumber through cell culture can be used as a unique and efficient method to generate mitochondrial mutants of a higher plant in a highly homozygous nuclear background.
G. Bartoszewski, Department of Plant Genetics, Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Warsaw Agricultural University, Nowoursynowska 159, 02?776 Warszawa, Poland