In vitro propagation of Anchote (Coccinia abyssinica) (Lam.) Cogn.]

Abstract

Coccinia abyssinica (Lam.) Cogn.] (Cucurbitaceae) is a tuberous neutraceutical plant locally known as Anchote (Oromo language). A micropropagation protocol was developed for C. abyssinica. Seeds were planted ex vitro in a pot that contained different soil mix ratios, and two weeks old seedlings were used as a source of explants. Shoot tip and nodal explants were sterilized and cultured on full MS medium variously supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), indole acetic acid (IAA), naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) to produce adventitious shoot and rooting. High germination percentage (97%) was obtained from decoated seeds sown on soil mix ratios of 2:1:1 (sand, loam soil, coffee husk, respectively). Sodium hypochlorite at a concentration of 2.0% exposure of 5 min gave high percentages of survived nodal (79.43±0.6) and shoot tip (74.33±0.58) explants. 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) (3.0 µM) was found to be an optimum concentration for shoot induction, yielding 80% for nodal and 70% for shoot tip explants. The combination of BAP (3.0 µM) with IAA (0.5 µM) was obtained as optimum concentration yielding 13.4 and 11.03 shoots per explants for nodal and shoot tip respectively for shoot multiplication. Half strength MS medium supplemented with IBA (0.5 µM) and IAA (1.5 µM) yielded more than 90% rooting with optimum root number and length. For acclimatization, sterilized soil mix of 2:1:1 (top forest soil: coffee husk: sand) was optimized yielding 80% on transparent polyethylene plastic tube and 82.2% survived plantlets. This protocol provides a foundation for further studies to generate genetically improved C. abyssinica and related cucurbitaceous species.

Improved Micropropagation of Plantlets from Nodal Explants of Anchote (Coccinia abyssinica)—A Calcium- and Protein-rich Tuber

“…During the current study, nodal explants cultured on media supplemented with 2.5 mM kinetin produced 72% frequency of shoot multiplication. This is contrary to the work of Bekele et al (2013), who reported very low (23%, 27%, and 44%) frequency of microshoot induction when 1, 2, and 3 mM kinetin was used, respectively.…”

“…Explant contamination is a function of several plant and environmental related factors such as plant species, age, explant source, and prevailing weather condition. Previous workers on anchote used explants from in vitro-germinated seedlings (which did not require sterilization) and nodal explants derived from seedling growing in the greenhouse (Bekele et al, 2013;Yambo and Feyissa, 2013). During the current study, a higher percent number of clean explants were obtained than the numbers reported by Yambo and Feyissa (2013).…”

“…Moreover, plant regeneration from cells, tissues, and organ cultures is a prerequisite for the application of plant biotechnology for genetic improvement. Bekele et al (2013), and Yambo and Feyissa (2013) have reported micropropgation of anchote using in vitro germinated seedlings and seedling growing in the greenhouse and BAP and kinetin. Based on review of available literature, there are no reports on the use of nodal explants harvested from plants raised from C. abyssinica tubers.…”

Food and Nutrition Security Potential of Anchote (<i>Cocciniaabyssinica</i>); A Tuberous Crop Indigenous to Ethiopia: A Review

“…It is traditionally recommended to feed women that give birth due to the fact that it contains high Ca and Fe [8]. It can also be used to treat gonorrhea, tuberculosis and tumor cancer due to active ingredient contents [11,17,19]. Therefore, anchote is one of the food crops that help to maintain health of the consumers in addition to its nutritional value.…”

Critical Review on Plant Micropropagation of Ethiopian Plants Reported So Far: Existing Gaps, Required Standardization, and Future Research Direction

“…Plant micropropagation reports in Ethiopia should thus pay attention to these presumed controversies and contribute their share to address some of the existing controversies in order to expand the application of micropropagation with the desired repeatability and standards. Diverse plant species including cereals, oil crops, spices, medicinal plants, high-value crops, fruit plants, root crops, and endangered multipurpose shrubs were utilized in various forms of plant micropropagation in Ethiopia [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31], [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42], [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55]. Critical assessment of these studies would facilitate the development of repeata...…”