Author(s)

Hemant Lata, Suman Chandra, Yan-Hong Wang, Vijayasankar Raman, Ikhlas A. Khan

National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, USA.

An efficient high frequency plant regeneration protocol through direct organogenesis was developed for Sevia rebaudiana Bert. Nodal segments containing axillary buds were used as an explant and inoculated on Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium containing 3% (w/v) sucrose, 0.8% (w/v) agar supplemented with various concentrations of benzyladenine (BA), kinetin (Kn) and thidiazuron (TDZ) ranging from 1.00 to 9.00 μM. Maximum multiple shoots (96%) were obtained in MS medium supplemented with 1.0 μM TDZ with an average of 60 shoots per culture, having an average shoot length of 6.0 cm. The best in vitro root induction (89%) was achieved on half strength MS medium without any growth regulator with an average of 24 roots per culture and root length of7 cm. The rooted plantlets were successfully established in soil and grown to maturity at the survival rate of 95% in the indoor grow room. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to assess the stability in chemical profile and quantification of stevioside and rebaudioside A content of in vitro propagated S. rebaudiana plants and compared with their mother plant at the peak vegetative stage. Our results show no significant differences (p < 0.05) between the mother and in vitro propagated plants. Furthermore, fully developed in vitro propagated S. rebaudiana plants were also compared with mother plant for their gas and water vapour exchange characteristics and leaf anatomy. The results show that in vitro propagated and hardened plants of S. rebaudiana are morphologically as well as functionally comparable to each other and to their mother plant.

Asteraceae; Gas and Water Vapour Exchange; In Vitro Propagation; Leaf Anatomy; Rebaudioside A; Stevia rebaudiana; Stevioside; Thidiazuron

H. Lata, S. Chandra, Y. Wang, V. Raman and I. Khan, "TDZ-Induced High Frequency Plant Regeneration through Direct Shoot Organogenesis in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni: An Important Medicinal Plant and a Natural Sweetener," American Journal of Plant Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 1, 2013, pp. 117-128. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2013.41016.