RESEARCH IN ACTION

 

Plant regeneration from seed-derived callus of Arctotis arctotoides, a medicinal herb of the family Asteraceae

 

 

P.O. Adebola^I; A.J. Afolayan^II

^ICultivar Development Division, ARC-Roodeplaat Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Institute, Private Bag X293, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
^IIDepartment of Botany, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa

 

 

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ABSTRACT

We have devised a procedure for in vitro plant regeneration, from seed-derived callus, of Arctotis arctotoides, a plant noted for its medicinal uses among the rural people of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Callus formation was induced in basal MS salt supplemented with 3% sucrose and 1% agar at different concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). After two weeks, morphogenic responses were evident in cultures and deeply stained, light-yellow calluses were produced. The highest percentage (68%) of seed explants that induced callus formation was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg l^-12,4-D in the dark. When callus material was repeatedly subcultured in ½MS basal medium with a 16-h photoperiod without any hormonal supplement, adventitious shoots were produced eight weeks after the start of culture. The shoots rooted two weeks later. This is the first record of the in vitro regeneration of A arctotoides and could serve as a foundation for further research on tissue culture, micropropagation and germplasm conservation of this noteworthy medicinal plant.

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We thank the National Research Foundation of South Africa for a postdoctoral fellowship awarded to P.O. Adebola, and the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria for granting him study leave.
* Author for correspondence. E-mail: aafolayan@ufh.ac.za