• Media Center

    Please find all product brochures and product videos in the Partec Media Center.

Partec Agroscience | Animal & Wildlife Research | Aquaculture | Plant Breeding

Partec Agrosciences | Breeding | Aquaculture


Since more than 20 years Flow Cytometry plays an important role in Agrosciences and Plant Breeding worldwide. The uniqueness of flow cytometric ploidy and genome size analysis made FCM an indispensable tool for research driven as well as commercial plant breeders. Flow cytometric DNA analysis allows monitoring DNA content and ploidy level of high numbers of individuals at an early stage of plant development with comparable low investment in equipment and man power. Partec contributed to this field of applications since its early beginning through the development of dedicated, robust and reliable instrumentation and reagent protocols and can claim today to be market leader in the use of flow cytometry in these disciplines.


Within the last over 20 years the interest to use flow cytometry for the determination of nuclear DNA amount in plants did permanently increase. Previously used methods of conventional chromosome counting and densitometry have been more and more substituted by flow cytometric techniques. The analysis of plant nuclear DNA became significantly faster, more accurate and more convenient by the use of dedicated Partec flow cytometers employing fluorescent staining of plant nuclei. In addition to the use in applied and basic research FCM turned out to be extremely useful in numerous applications in plant breeding. Due to its particular characteristics in terms of speed and accuracy it opened new research perspectives and breeding strategies allowing the analysis of nuclear DNA of hundreds of samples within short time at a minimum of manpower. From the early beginning Partec contributed to the application of FCM in the field of plant genetics and plant breeding (De LAAT, Göhde and Vogelzang, 1987). With the Ploidy Analyser™ instrument, Partec has set the standard for the analysis of plant nuclear DNA.

Agrosciences | Animal & Wildlife Research |
Aquaculture


FCM applications in Agrosciences are in first line focussing on plant and animal breeding. Determination of nuclear DNA content as measure of the level of ploidy has first line impact on breeding strategies for the creation of new plant cultivars. Routine ploidy determination in seed production of typically polyploid crops like sugar beet and in breeding of polyploid animals like oyster, shrimp and fish hybrids forms a second highly relevant use of flow cytometric DNA determination in Agroscience. Next to DNA related analysis, sperm viability and fertility assays as well as the immuno status of life stock are getting more and more in focus of flow cytometric techniques. An equivalent in plant Agroscience is the detection and analysis of plant pathogens. On the border line to industrial applications the quality control of milk and wine are relevant applications in Agrosciences.

Plant Breeding


Main applications of flow cytometry in plant breeding are:

Ploidy analysisThe analysis of the ploidy level is the most frequent application of FCM in plant breeding. Since in vitro techniques are employed in the production of plants and in plant breeding the determination of ploidy became more important like in the following examples:

  • stability of the ploidy level i.e. in sugar beet seeds (2n and 3n), ryegrass (2n and 4n) or in in-vitro cultures
  • detection of aneuploid plants i.e. to select individuals for breeding or to monitor the effect of a mutagenic treatment like radiation or chemicals
  • production of haploid and di-haploid plants from anther, microspore or ovary cultures



  1. Hybridization
    Flow cytometry is well suited to detect intraspecific hybrids according to their DNA content. This has practical value for a serie of different crops like rape, sun flower, various grasses or onion.
  2. Apomixis
    As an asexual reproduction through seeds apomixis may contribute to maintain uniformity in crop cultivars. Usually very high numbers of samples have to be screened in order to verify the breeding result.
  3. Effects of Endoreduplication
    _ endoreduplication of endosperm and cell cycle in seeds of different vigour
    _ endoreduplication as process in cell differentiation
  4. Genome size
    Genome size determination as supporting tool in plant taxonomy and to screen effects of genotoxic agents under experimental or field conditions. Genome size determinations should be performed with CyStain PI absolute P.