Nuclear irradiation breeding, also known as radiation induced mutation breeding, is the process of artificially controlling seeds, plants, or plant tissues to undergo radiation treatment using physical radiation factors such as neutrons, protons, X-rays, and gamma rays, inducing genetic material (mainly DNA) variation. Through selection and cultivation, new varieties with excellent traits are obtained. This method can break the original gene chain, overcome distant hybridization incompatibility, promote gene recombination, increase the frequency and range of variation, and shorten the breeding period.

Development history

The origin of nuclear irradiation breeding technology can be traced back to the early 20th century. In 1927, Professor Muller from the United States first discovered that X-rays could cause heritable mutations in fruit flies. Subsequently, scientists gradually applied this technology to the field of plant breeding. After entering the 1950s, with the deepening of nuclear energy research and the widespread application of nuclear technology, radiation induced breeding technology also developed rapidly. Nowadays, nuclear irradiation breeding has become an important means in the field of agricultural breeding.

Technical characteristics and advantages

High mutation rate: Nuclear irradiation breeding can significantly increase the mutation rate of plants, which is 100-1000 times higher than the natural mutation rate.
Short breeding cycle: Due to the high mutation rate, breeders can quickly screen out new varieties with excellent traits.
Wide range of variation: Nuclear irradiation can induce various types of genetic variations, including chromosomal structural variations, gene point mutations, etc.
Convenient method: Compared to other breeding methods, nuclear irradiation breeding is easy to operate and master

Basic steps

The basic steps of nuclear irradiation breeding include:

Select mutagenic parents: Select suitable plant varieties as mutagenic parents based on breeding objectives.
Determine radiation dose: Determine the appropriate radiation dose based on plant species and breeding objectives.
Radiation treatment: irradiate selected plant seeds, plants, or tissues.
Planting and selection: Plant irradiated seeds in the field or greenhouse, and obtain mutants with excellent traits through observation and selection.
Identification and cultivation: Further identification and cultivation of selected excellent mutants, ultimately obtaining new varieties

Application instance

Nuclear irradiation breeding technology has been widely used in the breeding of rice, wheat, soybean, flowers and other plants. For example, China has successfully cultivated multiple excellent rice and wheat varieties using neutron irradiation technology, which have shown outstanding performance in disease resistance, high yield, and other aspects. In addition, nuclear irradiation breeding has been successfully applied in the breeding of ornamental flowers, cultivating many new varieties with bright colors and long flowering periods.
With the continuous progress of technology and the continuous development of breeding technology, nuclear irradiation breeding technology will play a more important role in the field of agricultural breeding.



In the future, this technology is expected to achieve breakthroughs in the following areas:
The application of new radiation sources: Traditional radiation sources such as gamma rays will gradually be replaced by new radiation sources such as fast neutrons and ion beams.
Combined use of multiple radiation sources: The combined use of multiple radiation sources will further improve mutation efficiency and breeding effectiveness.

Targeted irradiation breeding: By combining genetic engineering and molecular biology techniques, targeted irradiation breeding is achieved to cultivate new varieties with specific excellent traits.
Basic research in radiation biology: To conduct in-depth research on the mechanism and changes of radiation on plant genetic material, and provide theoretical support for radiation breeding.