biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 51:795-798, 2007 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-007-0163-0

In vitro minimum growth for conservation of Drosophyllum lusitanicum

S. Gonçalves¹, A. Romano^1,*

¹ Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre for Molecular and Structural Biomedicine, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Portugal

The present paper reports a protocol for minimum growth conservation of Drosophyllum lusitanicum (L.) Link. in vitro. Double-node cuttings were maintained for 4, 8 and 12 months at 5 or 25 °C in the dark. The effects of sucrose either alone at 5, 20, 30, 40 and 60 g dm^-3 or at 20, 40 and 60 g dm^-3 in combination with 20 g dm^-3 mannitol, on survival and post-storage shoot multiplication efficiency were investigated. The cultures could effectively be conserved under minimum growth at 5 °C for 8 months on Murashige and Skoog's medium supplemented with 60 g dm^-3 sucrose, 20 g dm^-3 mannitol and 0.91 µM zeatin. Following extended conservation, the cultures could be successfully regenerated into new shoots, and they were morphologically similar to those of non-stored controls.

Keywords: endangered species; germplasm conservation; osmotic stress

Subjects: Drosophyllum lusitanicum; endangered plants; germplasm conservation; in vitro culture, regeneration, proliferation, differentiation; nutrient medium, Murashige and Skoog (MS); osmotic potential, stress

Received: February 8, 2006; Accepted: August 11, 2006; Published: December 1, 2007  Show citation