Micropropagation of Hibiscus moscheutos L. ‘Luna White’: effect of growth regulators and explants on nuclear DNA content and ploidy stability of regenerants

• Published in: In vitro cellular & developmental biology. Plant 2022-02, Vol.58 (1), p.61-69
• Main Authors: Sakhanokho, Hamidou F., Islam-Faridi, Nurul, Babiker, Ebrahiem M., Smith, Barbara J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Biology; Chromosome number; Chromosomes; Cytokinins; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Developmental Biology; DNA; Experiments; Explants; Flow cytometry; Flow stability; Growth regulators; Hibiscus moscheutos; Leaves; Life Sciences; Micropropagation; Nodes; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Sciences; Ploidy; Seeds; Shoots; Stability analysis
• ISSN: 1054-5476; 1475-2689
• DOI: 10.1007/s11627-021-10209-w

Hibiscus moscheutos L., also known as hardy hibiscus, is valued for its medicinal and ornamental attributes. It is usually propagated via seeds or cuttings. The purpose of this investigation was to develop a dependable micropropagation for H. moscheutos ‘Luna White’. To that end, the effect of four explant types (leaf, root, node, shoot tip) and two growth regulators 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and meta -Topolin ( mT ) (6-(3-hydroxybenzylamino) purine) on in vitro growth of H. moscheutos was investigated. Genetic stability of the in vitro grown plants was assessed using flow cytometry, and chromosome count was investigated. No shoots were obtained from leaf or root explants. An efficient protocol for micropropagation of H. moscheutos using two explant types, 2-node and shoot tip explants, and two cytokinins (BA and m T) capable of producing true-to-type regenerants was established. Both BA and mT can be used at 2 μM or 4 μM using either 2-node or shoot tip explants. No significant difference was found between the nuclear DNA contents of seed-derived and in vitro grown plants ( P < 0.05). The mean 2C DNA and monoploid 1Cx-values of seed-derived plants were 3.25 ± 0.08 pg and 1.62 ± 0.04 pg, respectively, compared with 3.26 ± 0.06 pg and 1.63 ± 0.02 pg, respectively, for in vitro grown plants. The chromosome number of both seed-derived plants and regenerants was determined to be 2 n = 2 x = 38. The mature regenerants obtained were fertile and phenotypically similar to seed-derived plants.