Collaborative project: Development of high performance and generative duplicable lines of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) by conventional production of homozygous lines as a condition for synthetics or hybrids; Subproject 1: JKI

Project

Project code: 22019708, JKI-ZGO-08-1101
Contract period: 01.04.2010 - 31.12.2013
Budget: 257,339 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research

Together with the project parts of our cooperating companies N.L. Chrestensen Samenzucht und Produktion GmbH and Dr. Junghanns GmbH, the basics for modern breeding in lemon balm must be developed in the first of three intended project periods. For this purpose, different accessions of lemon balm have to be evaluated for winter hardiness, leaf yield as well as amount of essential oil and rosmarinic acid. Strategies for self pollination and crossing have to be developed for creation of conventionally produced homozygous inbred lines and new breeding material. Additional to the project partners with an own proposal, the following companies and institutional partners are participating: Agrarprodukte Ludwigshof e.G., Agrimed Hessen wV, Geratal Agrar GmbH & Co. KG, Institute for Ecological Chemistry, Plant Analysis and Stored Product Protection (ÖPV) of the Julius Kuehn Institute (JKI), Institut für Pflanzenbau und Pflanzenzüchtung der Bayerischen Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft (LfL), Martin Bauer GmbH & Co. KG and Pharmaplant GmbH. Techniques required for self pollination and crossing had to be developed, the same as knowledge about reproductive situation and occurrence of male sterility in the species lemon balm. Measurements of different substances were an important prerequisite for assessment of gene bank accessions as well as for newly created plant material.

Evaluation was carried out in field experiments with 68 accessions of LfL, Freising, Germany, 28 accessions of IPK gene bank, Gatersleben, Germany and, beginning from 2011, 24 accessions of VIR gene bank, St. Petersburg, Russia. This material was characterized for winter hardiness, amount and composition of essential oil, amount of rosmarinic acid and, to a certain degree, for yield of leaves. Together with accessions rich in essential oil of lemon type, populations with a different main component of essential oil were found: 10 for germacrene D and six for â-caryophyllene. The collection contains diploid, triploid and tetraploid accessions. The characterized variability opened the possibility to develop homozygous lines for the mentioned breeding goals up to inbreed generation I4. Crossing of defined lines created a new gene pool of basic material for development of new promising lines. Molecular analyses of 120 evaluated accessions resulted for the first time in phylogenetic distances for species lemon balm. The results of this analysis were used for selection of crossing partners to achieve largest variability in the new gene pool. First results showed no or nearly no inbred depression in relation of inbred generation I1 and I2. No source for male sterility was found within the evaluated material.

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