DNA Ploidy

Determining ploidy levels in plants and seeds is an important step in quality control. Flow cytometry measures variations in the number of genetic material in dysplastic cells. This technology remains the reference method in plant biology to assess the size of a genome and the level of ploidy. 

A sustainable and profitable food production requires progressive breeding strategies and impeccable quality control procedures to ensure high quality products.

The aquaculture industry relies strongly on knowing the ploidy of its produce to confidently select which specimens are used for breeding. Most naturally occurring fish, crustaceans and oysters contain diploid genetic material, although spontaneous levels of polyploidy are also known to occur in nature. Generally, diploid and tetraploid organisms are fertile, while those with odd numbers (i.e. triploids, pentaploids, etc.) are sterile.

By using fluorescent dyes that bind to DNA molecules, flow cytometry can evaluate a cell’s chromosome content by detecting the intensity of the fluorescence emitted by the dye-labelled nuclei.