Fertile Indica rice plants regenerated from protoplasts isolated from microspore derived cell suspensions.

Rice plants (Oryza sativa L., Chinsurah Boro II var. Indica) were regenerated from protoplasts isolated from microspore derived cell suspensions. A simple procedure for the establishment of such cell suspension cultures from embryogenic microcallus derived from cultured isolated microspores of Indica-type rice is described. Regenerating protoplasts could readily be isolated from 5-12 months old cell suspensions showing visible colony formation in the range of 180-1050 colonies/10(6) protoplasts after about one month in culture. More than 100 independent green plantlets were regenerated via secondary embryogenesis from ca 20×10(6) protoplasts. Out of 32 plants grown to maturity under greenhouse conditions 24 were fertile.