Development in Sterile Culture of Stem Tips and Subjacent Regions of Tropaeolum Majus L. And of Lupinus Albus L

Abstract

THEORETICALLY, the shoot apex of higher plants that length rooted only in light. Large plants were should prove the ideal object for experimental mor-grown from these cultures. Smith (1940) grew stem phology. It produces by its activities tissues from tips (0.55 to 4.0 mm, long) of Helianthus annuus which all the vegetative parts of the shoot are dif-on agar in White's solution. Studies were made of ferentiated. The problems of differentiation, or ma-the effects of various accessory growth factors in turation of tissues down the plant shoot, have been the medium on the rates of growth. Loo (1945) subjected to few physiological studies. Higher grew stem tips (5 to 10 mm, long) of Asparagus plants, with the young, embryonic tissues at the officinalis in sterile culture through twenty successtem tip, and progressively more differentiated or sive transfers. He considered these cultures to be mature tissues in the subjacent regions, are excel-the first true stem (organ) cultures that have been lent material for in vitro studies.achieved and to be comparable with the organ cul-Little consideration in the published work has tures of excised roots described by White, Robbins, been given to such significant morphological char-Bonner and others. De Ropp (1945) reported that acteristics as polarity, potentiality for development the growth of excised stem tips of rye embryos was of tissues during maturation, and correlation. The confined to the first leaf. When roots were produced, great theoretical interest of such data prompted the which was rarely, growth was more normal. writer to carry out several series of sterile cultures Much controversy has occurred in the literature of shoot apices (with little additional tissues), and concerning the capacity for growth and developof subjacent tissues undergoing maturation. ment of vegetative plant cells. It was the purpose Rechinger (1893) grew isolated buds of Populus of the writer to obtain evidence on this matter by nigra, Fraeinus ornus and other plants in sand with-comparing the growth in vitro of the apical, meriout nutrient materials. Some basal callus and a stematic tissues with that of the subjacent maturslight expansion of upper parts occurred, but no ing tissues of the shoot. roots were formed. Goebel (1908) grew isolated Also, since the respiratory rates of the tissue buds of Ceratopteris thalictroides in moist peat and pieces used in these experiments had been previfound that they produced leaves much smaller and ously determined (Ball and Boell, 1944), it was simpler morphologically than those of normal considered worth while to find whether a relationplants. Robbins (1922) apparently first grew shoot ship exists between rate of respiration and developtips in sterile conditions with sugar. He grew stem mental capacity. tips (1.75 to 3.75 em, long) of pea, corn and cotton Further, these cultures lent themselves well to in the dark in agar with glucose. The tips produced studies of the polarity of the buds and subjacent shoots with small chlorotic leaves and numerous...

Plant regeneration from meristems of grain legumes: soybean, cowpea, peanut, chickpea, and bean

“…In an elegant experiment, Ball (1980) demonstrated that shoot apices of blue lace flower (Trachymene coerulea) regenerated into whole plants in vitro on culture medium without exogenous growth regulators. In earlier studies with Tropaeolum majus and Lupinus albus he discovered that no exogenous growth substances were required if the explant consisted of the apical meristems together with two or more pairs of primordial leaves (Ball 1946(Ball , 1960. Since plant cells do not generally grow in the absence of hormones, the plant regeneration noted here is attributable to the hormones synthesized in the cowpea explants, by the primordial leaves.…”

Somatic embryogenesis of agriculturally important lupin species (Lupinus angustifolius, L. albus, L. mutabilis)

“…Morphogenesis from shoot apices of L. albus was first described by Ball (1946). Occasionally, shoot regeneration has also been obtained from leaf explants of L. luteus (Sator 1985a) and from nodal segments of L. albus, L. angustifolius and L. luteus (Schafer-Menuhr 1986).…”

History of plant tissue culture

“…Plantlets were successfully produced by culturing shoot tips with a couple of primordia of Lupinus and Tropaeolum [9], but the importance of this finding was not recognized until later when this approach to obtain virus-free orchids, its potential for clonal propagation was realized [49]. The potential was rapidly exploited, particularly with ornamentals [50].…”

“…Such root cultures were used initially for viral studies and later as a major tool for physiological studies [7]. Success was also achieved with bud cultures [8,9].…”