Breeding of the native vegetables using the biotechnology

For breeding of a new rootstock for eggplant production, somatic hybrids between two species, Solanum integrifolium and S. sanitwongsei were obtained through protoplast fusion. The former species has been commonly used for rootstock for eggplant production in Japan. Eggplants on these rootstocks are more productive than ungrafted plants, but are susceptible to bacterial wilt caused Ralstonia solanacearum. While the latter species is resistant, the growth of eggplants on this rootstock is rather slow and low yield. Protoplast of both species were isolated from cotyledons, and inactivated with iodoacetamide or UV-irradiation, then fused electrically. The fused products were then cultured. Regenerated plantlets were then transplanted on soil then maintained in a green house. The plants were classified into four groups. Those in the first group showed morphological characters intermediate of the parentalspecies. The plants bore fruit with viable seeds. The plants showed a chromosome number of 2n=48, the sum of those of the parental species, and are suggested to be symmetric fusion products. While plants in the other groupswas less vigorous and showed chromosome number 2n= 68 to 72 suggesting asymmetric fusion products by genomic in situ hybridization(GISH). Isozyme pattern of shikimate dehydrogenase (SKDH; EC 1.1.1.25), isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH; EC 1.1.1.41) and phosphoglucomutase (PGM; EC 2.7.5.1) showed that 24 regenerated plants in three groups were somatic hybrids. Analysis of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) showed that 43 S. integrifolium-specific and 57 S. sanitwongsei-specific bands were all found in 24 plants. Both somatic hybrids and its S1 plants were found to be resistant to bacterial wilt, and eggplant grafted these plants using for rootstocks were more productive than grafted mother plants. Now, S1 progenies are used for commercial eggplant production in Osaka Prefecture.