Coffee plant breeding through conventional methods demands a long time to obtain new cultivars. The reduction of this period is possible through the production of homozygous lines, from dihaploids obtained via anther culture. The aim of this study was to apply the anther culture technique on different C. arabica L. cultivars to induce calli formation and to regenerate dihaploid seedlings with the use of plant growth regulators. The experiments were accomplished in the Plant Biotechnology laboratory at Uberlândia Federal University (UFU). Anthers of the cultivars Mundo Novo LCP-379-19 and Catuaí Vermelho H2077-2-5-44 were inoculated on MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg L-1 2,4-D and ASA at 0, 8, 16, 32 or 64 mg L-1. 'Catuaí Vermelho 44' calli were subcultured on MS supplemented with different concentrations of BAP (0, 2, 4 or 8 mg L-1) and 2,4-D (0, 1, 2 or 4 mg L-1). The increase in ASA concentrations decreased the pro-embryoid formation on calli of both cultivars and only 2,4-D promoted the formation of friable calli. However, the balance of auxin and cytokinin used in this study favored the production of friable calli.
Plant growth regulators; direct embryogenesis; callosity; Coffea Arabica
