An efficient induction system and regeneration protocol based on mature barley embryos were developed.Embryos isolated from mature seeds,dehusked by hand and inoculated with longitudinally bisected sections,showed low contamination and high primary callus-forming capability.The influences of nine culture media on primary callus induction and germination from the mature embryos of barley cultivars Golden Promise and Zaoshu 3 were analyzed.The results showed that the two cultivars had much higher values of primary callus induction in the B16M6D medium as compared to the other eight medium formulations,with a frequency of 74.3% and 78.4% for Golden Promise and Zaoshu 3,respectively.Furthermore,Zaoshu 3 demonstrated particularly high stability in callus induction over the different media,indicating its potential utilization in callus induction and regeneration for its good agronomic traits and wide adaption.There were significant differences amongst 11 barley genotypes in terms of primary callus induction in the optimum medium,with percentages of callus induction and germination response ranging from 17.9% to 78.4% and 2.8% to 47.4%,respectively.Green plantlets of Dong 17,Golden Promise,and Zaoshu 3 were successfully de-veloped from primary calli through embryogenesis,with green plant differentiation frequencies ranging from 9.7% to 21.0% across genotypes.
To understand genetic patterns of the morphological and physiological traits in flag leaf of barley, a double haploid （DH） population derived from the parents Yerong and Franklin was used to determine quantitative trait loci （QTL） controlling length, width, length/width, and chlorophyll content of flag leaves. A total of 9 QTLs showing significantly additive effect were detected in 8 intervals on 5 chromosomes. The variation of individual QTL ranged from 1.9% to 20.2%. For chlorophyll content expressed as SPAD value, 4 QTLs were identified on chromosomes 2H, 3H and 6H; for leaf length and width, 2 QTLs located on chromosomes 5H and 7H, and 2 QTLs located on chromosome 5H were detected; and for length/width, I QTL was detected on chromosome 7H. The identification of these QTLs associated with the properties of flag leaf is useful for barley improvement in breeding programs.
