Production, storability and morphogenic response of alginate encapsulated axillary meristems and genetic fidelity evaluation of in vitro regenerated Ceropegia bulbosa: A pharmaceutically important threatened plant species

• Published in: Industrial crops and products 2013-05, Vol.47, p.139-144
• Main Authors: Dhir, Richa, Shekhawat, G.S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: auxins; calcium alginate; Ceropegia; Ceropegia bulbosa; Conservation; Encapsulation; Genetic stability; mature plants; meristems; Plant regeneration; plantlets; random amplified polymorphic DNA technique; shoots; storage quality; temperature
• ISSN: 0926-6690; 1872-633X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2013.02.005

. [Display omitted] ► Ceropegia bulbosa is a medicinally potent plant species, which requires immediate conservation. ► In the protocol presented high number of shoots are obtained from nodal segments, which subsequently produce roots on ½ strength MS. ► Encapsulated nodal segments showed 100% regeneration on medium supplemented with 8.88μM BA. ► Encapsulated nodal segments could be stored upto a period of 60 days with more than 50% conversion into plantlets. ► Plantlets obtained from encapsulated and non-encapsulated nodal segments acclimatized well and showed upto 98% survival. In vitro multiple shoot production was achieved in Ceropegia bulbosa var. bulbosa. Nodal segments obtained from mature plant were used as an explant and their morphogenetic potential was tested on, Murashige and Skoog's medium containing cytokinins alone or in combination with auxins. Application of 8.88μM, 6-benzyladenine was most effective for shoot regeneration and resulted in an average of 9.7 shoots/explant. Nodal segments obtained from in vitro proliferated shoots of C. bulbosa, were encapsulated in calcium alginate beads for large-scale clonal propagation, short-term conservation, germplasm exchange and distribution. Maximum percent response for conversion of encapsulated nodal segments into plantlets was 100%. Encapsulated nodal segments could be stored at low temperature (4°C) up to 60 days with a survival frequency of 50.7%. Morphologically identical plants generated in vitro were genetically identical when analyzed using random decamer primers (RAPD).