In vitroselection of salt-tolerantAilanthus altissimaSwingle

Abstract

Salt-tolerant cell lines of Ailanthus altissima were selected from callus derived protoplasts. Murashige-Skoog (MS) liquid medium incorporated with various concentrations of NaCl was employed to enrich salt-tolerant A. altissima cell lines. Salt-resistant A. altissima cells were transferred on MS solid medium supplemented with 2.5 mM 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), 0.5 mM benzyl adenine (BA) and various NaCl concentrations. The callus was cultured on MS medium containing NaCl for 5 months, to determine the survival rate as an index of salt tolerance. The measurement of growth parameters for salt-tolerant cells showed that the selected plant cell lines grew better than the unselected ones at all levels of NaCl tested. The salt-tolerant callus accumulated proline in correlation to the concentration of salts. Media supplemented with BA induced shoot differentiation of salt-resistant A. altissima cells.