Ion beam irradiation is a potential tool for inducing novel mutations in plants. We chose three crop species (rye, linseed, and faba bean) to determine the potential of nitrogen ion beam irradiation for inducing mutations. We tested ion beam irradiation with nitrogen ions at six different fluencies (5×105, 1×106, 5×106, 1×107, 5×107, and 1×108 N-ion cm-2) on dry grains. The three studied crop species had different sensitivities to the irradiation. Increased doses of ion irradiation had more effect on survival than on germination. Rye seedlings had the lowest survival rate at high doses of irradiation and significantly higher off-type plant phenotypes than the other two species. In M1 seedlings, stunted growth, failure to complete the plant life cycle and chlorophyll mutants were observed in all three species. Terminal-inflorescence mutations and sectional chimeras in faba bean were observed in the M2 generation. We conclude that ion beam irradiation is an effective tool for mutation breeding of diverse crop species when the appropriate dose is defined.
Ion beam irradiation mutagenesis in rye (Secale cereale L.), linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.)
