In Vitro Germination of Hevea Somatic Embryos : Effect of Cytokinins
P. Kumari Jayasree *
Biotechnology division, Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam-686 009, India
A. Thulaseedharan
Biotechnology division, Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam-686 009, India
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A successful procedure for somatic embryo germination and plant regeneration from immature anther derived callus of RRII 105, a high yield clone of Hevea brasiliensis, has been described. Of the four cytokinins (BA, ZEA, KIN, TDZ) tested, TDZ at 0.25mg/l concentration was found to be superior for embryo germination as well as plant regeneration response followed by BA and ZEA. On medium supplemented with KIN, maximum response occurred with 2.0mg/l however, the response was found to be low when compared to BAand ZEA. Initial growth of plants in terms of height, shoot length and number of leaves was found to be higher for TDZ than plants derived with BA and ZEA.
Keywords: Immature anther, Hevea brasiliensis, Plant regeneration, Somatic embryogenesis