EMS-INDUCED LINCOMYCIN RESISTANCE IN RED-PEPPER (CAPSICUM-ANNUUM L.)

Ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) is a potential mutagen to induce lincom ycin resistance in Capsicum annuum. Mutagenized cotyledons were cultur ed on shoot regenerating medium containing lincomycin (100 mgl(-1)). A pproximately 14% of regenerated shoots were chlorophyll deficient and about 4% of regenerated shoots were green from mutaganized cotyledons. The regenerated green plants were resistant to lincomycin but sensiti ve to chloramphenicol, kanamycin, spectinomycin, and streptomycin. Rec iprocal crosses were made between resistant and sensitive plants. Inhe ritance of lincomycin resistance was transmitted as a non-Mendelian tr ait. Lincomycin resistance is a first selectable and maternally inheri ted organelle encoded genetic marker described in chili pepper. Such m utants should be useful in designing biochemical selection schemes to recover somatic hybrids and cybrids.