TITLE:
Simple Protocol for the Micropropagation of Teak (Tectona grandis Linn.) in Semi-Solid and Liquid Media in RITA® Bioreactors and ex Vitro Rooting
AUTHORS:
María Elena Aguilar, Karla Garita, Yong Wook Kim, Ji-Ah Kim, Heung Kyu Moon
KEYWORDS:
Micropropagation, Teak, Tectona grandis, RITA® Bioreactors, Temporary Immersion, Ex Vitro Rooting
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.10 No.7,
July
12,
2019
ABSTRACT: In Latin America the forestry of exotic species such
as teak has been increasing in recent decades, due to their advantages in wood
quality, rapid growth; and the relative ease of producing clones and their
multiplication with respect to native species. Therefore, there is great
interest in developing larger-scale propagation strategies that reduce costs
and intensive manual labor. Culture in liquid media with temporary immersion
and the semi-automation of the system has raised expectations for large-scale
micropropagation. We report a protocol for teak, which reuses the primary explants
in several culture cycles in semi-solid medium to produce nodal explants for
the multiplication phase in temporary immersion bioreactors (RITA® ). The control of factors such as cytokinin concentration, explants
density, immersion frequencies and culture duration was analyzed. The number of
shoots increased with 0.5 mg·l-1 of BA (6-Benzyladenine),
alone or in combination with 0.5 mg·l-1 of Kinetin, with
2 daily immersions of 1 minute each; however, these shoots showed a high degree
of hyperhydricity. When 0.05 mg·l-1 of BA was used with 1
immersion of 1 minute every 2 days, the hyperhydricity decreased. Although the
number of shoots was lower, they showed good length to be used during
multiplication and rooting ex vitro.
Our results suggest that teak micropropagation can be simplified in two phases in vitro, the establishment and
multiplication; followed by rooting ex
vitro and acclimatization. This would imply a reduction in production
costs, since most of the multiplication would take place in RITA® containers.