This document discusses the role of mutation breeding in crop improvement. It describes how mutation breeding involves inducing mutations using physical or chemical mutagens and exploiting beneficial mutations. Key points covered include: - Types of mutations include spontaneous and induced mutations. Common mutagens used are radiation, chemicals like EMS, and acridine dyes. - Procedures for mutation breeding involve selecting a variety, treating plant parts with an optimal mutagen dose, and screening and selecting mutants. - Achievements using mutation breeding include developing higher yielding varieties of crops like barley, rice, and groundnut with traits like increased size, drought tolerance, and disease resistance. - Advantages are its low cost and ability

1. Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur
MASTER SEMINAR Session: 2018-19
AGRON – 591(0+ 1 )
Topic – Role OF MUTATION BREEDING AND CROP IMPROVEMENT
Submitted to;
Dr. R
Professors & HOS
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding Submitted by
dhanendra dhanuka
M. Sc. Previous year 2nd sem.
Genetics & Plant Breeding
Btc college of agriculture and research station, bilaspur

2. CONTENTS
 Introduction
 Types of mutation
 Mutagens
 Mutation Breeding
 Breeding procedures
 Achievements of mutation breeding
 Advantages of mutation
 Limitations of mutation breeding
 Conclusion
 Reference

3. INTRODUCTION
 Mutation refers to sudden heritable
change in the phenotype of an individual.
 Is the change in genetic material : a
random change in a gene or
chromosome resulting in new trait.
 The term mutation breeding was first
coined by freisleben and lein (1994).
 Father of mutation breeding -Ake
gustafson.
 It is most commonly used in asexually
propagated crop and self pollinated
crops.

4. TYPES OF MUTATION
A. Spontaneous mutations: mutation
occur in natural populations.
B. Induced mutations: mutation may be
artificially induced by various mutagenic
agents.
 Induced mutations are two types:
1. Macro mutation : mutation with distinct
morphological changes in the
phenotype.
2. Micro-mutations: mutation with invisible
phenotypic changes.

5. Macro mutation Micro
mutation
1. Produce a large
phenotypic effect.
2. Oligogenic in
nature.
3. Easily identify on
individual plant
basis.
4. Can be easily
selected in m2
generation
1. Produce a small
phenotypic effect.
2. Poligenic in
nature.
3. Cannot be identify
on individual plat
basis.
4. Selection delays
till m3

6. MUTAGENS
 Mutagens: physical or chemical agent
which greatly enhance the frequency of
mutation.
 Type of mutagen :-
 A) Physical mutagens-
 E.g. - lonising radiation :
(a) Particulate radiations: alpha-rays, beta-
rays ,fast netrons and thermal netrons.
(b) Non-particulate radiations : x-rays and
gamma rays.

7. 2)Non ionising radiation : ultraviolet
radiation.
B. chemical mutagens:
1. Alkylating agents:EMS (ethyl
methane sulphonste), MMS , sulphur
mustard, nitrogen mustard.
2. Acridine dyes: proflavin, acridine
orange, acridine yellow and ethidium
bromide.
3. Other mutagens: nitrous acid ,sodium
ozide.

8. MUTATION BREEDING
 Inducing desirable mutation and exploiting them for
crop improvement. It is commonly used in self
pollinated crops and used to produce traits in crops
such as larger seed ,new colour .
 Important steps to know before mutation breeding
are :-
1) selection of variety for mutation breeding,
It should be the best variety available in crop and seed
should be pure.
2) Part of the plant to be treated
3) Dose of the mutagen :- Mutagen generally induce a
high frequency of chromosomal change and meiotic
and mitotic irregularities, optimum mutagen does is
one, which produce maximum frequency of mutation
and causes the minimum killing.

9. BREEDING PROCEDURE

10. ACHIEVEMENTS
• Higher yield barley (DL 253),Pea
(Hans),groundnut (Co 2,TG 17).
• Short stature barley (RDB 1),Rice
(Prabhawati).
• Earliness rice (IIT 48,IIT 60,Indira,Padmini).
• Stress resistance salt tolerance in
rice(Mohan).
• Water logging tolerance in jute (Padma).
• Bold seed size groundnut (PB 1,PB 2,
vikram) and Rice (jagannath).
• Sugarcane(S. Officinarum) Co 8152 is a
gamma –rays induced mutant from Co527,it
gives 40% higher cane yield than the parent

11. LIMITATIONS
 Low frequency of the desired mutation.
 Pleiotropic effect(one gene expressing
two or more unrelated effects.
 Most of the mutations are recessive.
 Identification of micro mutation is very
difficult.
 Health risks :handling, chemical
mutagens, fast neutrons treatments.
 Mutants can have strong negative
pleiotropic effect on other traits.

12. ADVANTAGES
• Mutation breeding is a cheap and rapid
method of developing new varieties.
• Induction of desirable mutant allele,
which is not present in germplasm.
• Limited breeding effort required.
• Novel variation can be produced.
• Mutation breeding is the simple, quick
and the best way when a new character
is to be induced.
• The treated material is safe to handle.

13. CONCLUSION
 Mutation breeding has long been a
beneficial tool in not only the plant
breeder’s tool box, but also basic
geneticist’s. In crops where diversity for
a given trait is low or non-existent,
induced mutagenesis provides an
avenue of possibility. With a clear
objective, efficient mutagenic protocol,
and a high throughput and efficient
phenotypic screening method,
mutagenesis can be of great benefit for
the improvement of crop plants.

14.  Textbooks
 Plant Breeding- B.D. Singh
 Plant Mutation Breeding and
Biotechnology- Q.Y. Shu, B.P. Forster,
H. Nakagawa
 Mutagenesis- Rajnikant Mishra
REFERENCE: