Sel’skokhozyaistvennaya Biologiya [Agricultural Biology], 2011, № 5, p. 56-62 UDC 635.649:631.52:581.143.6 THE METHODS FOR ISOLATION OF HAPLOID AND DIHAPLOID PEPPER PLANTS BY THE USE OF ANTHER AND MICROSPORES CULTURE (review) D.V. Shumilina, N.A. Shmykova All-Russia Research and Development Institute of Vegetable Crop Selection and Seed Growing, RAAS, Moscow province, Odintsovo region, Lesnoi Gorodok 143080, Russia e-mail: shumilina@vniissok.ru Received October 20, 2010 S u m m a r y The role of haploid and dihaploid lines in the breeding and the studying of genotypes of plants from Capsicum genus is discussed. <...> The factors are presented, which has an effect on embryogenesis efficiency in the culture of pepper microspores and anthers, the most effective method are described. <...> At present the productivity of such methods is rather low, and their development has practical importance. <...> This genus includes about 27 species including 5 domesticated ones - C. annuum L., C. baccatum L., C. chinense J., C. frutescens L. and C. pubescens Ruiz & Pav. <...> Diploid set of chromosomes consists of 24 chromosomes in all cultivated pepper species and in most of wild forms; some wild species have 26 chromosomes (C. campylopodium, C. villosum, etc.). <...> Most of pepper species are to varying degrees susceptible to phytopathogenic fungi, bacteria, viruses, insects and other pests. <...> Currently, almost all new varieties of pepper have been designed with the use of dihaploid lines. <...> Haploids have the only copy of allele of each locus, which allows identification of recessive mutations masked in normal diploid plants by non-mutant dominant alleles. <...> Doubling of chromosomes in haploid plants provides rapid formation of dihaploids homozygous for all genes for further obtaining hybrids (2). <...> In addition, the use of F1 hybrids in anther culture provides isolation of best genotypes and their conservation by doubling the chromosomes. <...> The unified genetic linkage map of pepper (C. annuum L.) including mainly RFLPs (restriction fragment length polymorphism) and RAPDs (random amplified polymorphic DNAs) markers has been created by comparing three inter-species linkage maps designed upon the analysis of dihaploids’ progeny (3). <...> Formation of haploids <...>