Patent ID: 8618353

Claim:
A method for producing fertile dihaploid homozygous Festuca species, comprising: a) providing a Lolium multiflorum diploid line which segregates for levels of pollen sterility and where upon using the Lolium as the maternal parent in an interspecific hybridization with a Festuca species, being utilized as the paternal parent, confers to the resultant sterile F1 interspecific hybrids the ability to produce some seed via parthenogenesis that also possess a viable embryo, wherein said seeds which possess a viable embryo may develop into F2 generation plants at least some of which are dihaploid homozygous Festuca species comprising a karyotype exhibiting a balanced genome of Festuca chromosomes equivalent to the chromosome number of said Festuca paternal parent and no Lolium chromosomes; b) crossing said Lolium multiflorum diploid line as the maternal parent with a Festuca species utilized as the paternal parent to generate sterile F1 interspecific hybrid plants; c) recovering and planting the panicle obtained from said F1 interspecific hybrid plants, wherein those of said seed heads that have developed embryos via parthenogenesis will develop into F2 plants; and d) growing said F2 plants, wherein at least some of said F2 plants comprise dihaploid homozygous Festuca species comprising a karyotype with a balanced genome of Festuca chromosomes equivalent to the chromosome number of said Festuca paternal parent and no Lolium chromosomes, and further comprising extranuclear genes of Lolium multiflorum; wherein said Lolium multiflorum diploid line used as the maternal parent is selected from the group consisting of IL-1 (ATCC deposit accession no. PTA-10229) and progeny thereof which comprise L. multiflorum extranuclear genes consisting of the extranuclear genes of IL-1; or wherein said Lolium multiflorum diploid line used as the maternal parent is selected from the group consisting of IL-2 (ATCC deposit accession no. PTA-10315) and progeny thereof which comprise L. multiflorum extranuclear genes consisting of the extranuclear genes of IL-2.