International Research Journal of Plant Science (ISSN: 2141-5447) Vol. 2(8) pp. 254-261, August, 2011 Available online http://www.interesjournals.org/IRJPS Copyright © 2011 International Research Journals Full length Research Paper An efficient in vitro protocol for multiple shoot induction in mulberry, Morus alba L variety V1 R. S. Sajeevan1,2, S. Jeba Singh1, Karaba N Nataraja1* and M. B. Shivanna2 1 Department of Crop Physiology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Department of Applied Botany, Kuvempu University, Jnanasahyadri, Shankaraghatta - 577451, Shimoga District, Karnataka, India. 2 Accepted 16 July, 2011 An efficient in vitro protocol for multiple shoot induction was standardized using nodal segment explant in a most popular mulberry, Morus alba variety V1. Explants collected from the field grown plants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentration/combination(s) of phytohormones. Multiple shoots were induced from the nodal segments after 45 days of incubation on shoot induction medium containing MS with BAP (1.0 mg/l), TDZ (0.1 mg/l) and NAA (0.25 mg/l). Further proliferation and elongation of adventitious buds were observed in secondary medium containing MS supplemented with BAP (1.0 mg/l), NAA (0.25 mg/l) and Gibberellic acid (GA3, 0.5 mg/l). Rooting was induced on MS medium containing indole-3-butyric acid (IBA, 0.5 mg/l) with or without charcoal (1 %, w/v) and well rooted plantlets were hardened in sterilized soilrite. In vitro grown plantlets showed 98% survival under green house conditions. The protocol developed would be of great use for mass propagation of mulberry and also support mulberry transgenic programs. Key words: In vitro-culture, multiple shoot induction, mulberry-var-V1, nodal explants. INTRODUCTION Mulberry (Morus species), a primary host of silkworms (Bombyx mori L.), is exploited on a commercial scale for silk production (Wakhlu and Bhau 2000). In India, different mulberry varieties suitable for different agroclimatic zones and agronomic practices have been developed, amongst which a few promising clones are Victory1 (V1), *Corresponding author Email: nataraja_karaba@yahoo.com, Telephone: 91-8023636713; Fax: 91-8023636713 Abbreviations: BAP - 6-benzylaminopurine GA3 - Gibberellic acid IBA - indole-3-butyric acid MS - Murashige and Skoog NAA - α-Naphthalene acetic acid PGR – Plant growth regulators TDZ - Thidiazuron (1-phenyl-3- [1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl] urea) S36, K-2, MR2 and S34 (Vijayan et al., 2004). V1 is one of the most leading varieties in South India due to its high yield potential and leaf quality. Mulberry tree improvement through conventional breeding is slow and also difficult due to its heterozygous nature (Ravindranan and Lakshmi Sita 1994; Song and Sink 2006). Vegetative propagation of mulberry through grafting is not economically viable (Bhau 1999). Although propagation through stem cuttings is possible and being used, poor rooting ability of promising genotypes is a major problem for large scale multiplication (Fotadar et al., 1990). For targeted crop improvement through biotechnological approaches, attempts have been made to standardize in vitro regeneration protocols in different mulberry varieties. Mulberry is a recalcitrant species in terms of tissue culture, and shoot regeneration is greatly dependent on the genotype, type of explant and combination of growth regulator used in the culture media (Sahoo et al., 1997; Bhau and Wakhlu 2001; Feyissa et al., 2005). Using different explants such as axillary bud (Jain et al., 1990; Yamanouchi et al., 1999; Vijayan et al., Sajeevan et al. 255 2000), hypocotyl and cotyledon (Bhatnagar et al., 2001), shoot tip and nodal segment (Yadav et al., 1990; Vijaya Chitra and Padmaja, 1999), leaf (Kapur et al., 2001) and stem (Narayan et al., 1989), in vitro regeneration has been attempted with various degrees of success. Since there are variations in regeneration among mulberry varieties (Tewary et al., 1996; Bhau and Wakhlu 2003; Rao et al., 2010), the main aim of the study was to develop and standardize a reproducible in vitro multiple shoot induction protocol for quick regeneration of popular variety Victory1 (V1). MATERIALS AND METHOD Plant material and explant preparation The plant material used in this study was obtained from 4 year-old trees of the Morus (Morus alba L) variety, V1 grown in the mulberry garden of University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India. Newly sprouted shoots were excised from field grown plants of mulberry. After removing the leaves, the nodal sections were washed thoroughly using running tap water and later sterilized with detergent (Tween 20, Sigma-Aldrich, USA). Washed explants were treated with 0.5 % (w/v) systemic fungicide (Bavistin, BASF, Australia) for 30 min and rinsed two to three times with sterile distilled water. Explants were cut into 5 cm lengths and surface sterilized by immersing in 70% (v/v) ethyl alcohol (Changshu Yangyuan chemical, China) for 3 min followed by rinsing twice with sterilized distilled water and subsequently soaked in a solution of 0.1 % (w/v) mercuric chloride (HgCl2, Sigma-Aldrich, USA) for 12 min with gentle shaking. Traces of HgCl2 were completely removed by washing (five to six times) with sterile double distilled water. Medium preparation and establishment of aseptic culture The MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) basal medium was prepared following standard protocol. The basal regeneration medium contained MS salts, vitamins, sucrose (3%, w/v) and bactoagar (0.8%, w/v). All growth regulators were added before the pH of the medium was adjusted to 5.7. Twenty milliliters of medium were poured into each culture tube (diameter, 2.5 cm; height, 15 cm) and sterilized by autoclaving at 121°C for 15 min at 105 kPa. Ends of the surface sterilized nodal explants (3.0 cm length) were trimmed off, and the explants with single auxiliary bud were cultured in culture medium containing MS salts and vitamins, supplemented with sucrose (3% w/v) along with varied concentration/combination(s) of cytokinin and auxin. Cultures after inoculation were incubated at 25 ± 2oC and 70–80% relative humidity with a photoperiod of 16/8 h light/dark using cool-white fluorescent lamps (photon flux -2 -1 density, 55-75 µmol m s ). Effect of growth regulators on multiple shoot induction Based on the preliminary experiments, four plant growth regulators (PGR, Sigma-Aldrich, USA), 6benzylaminopurine (BAP), thidiazuron (TDZ), αNaphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and Gibberellic acid (GA3) were tested. The sterile explants were inoculated on an initiation medium supplemented with BAP (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 mg/l) and TDZ (0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75 and 2.0), either separately, or in combination with NAA (0.25 mg/l). MS fortified with GA3 (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/l), BAP (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 mg/l) and NAA (0.25 mg/l) of different concentration/combination(s) was used as secondary medium for proliferation and elongation of the shoots. The number of shoots induced per explant was recorded at 45 days after initiation of the culture. Rooting and plant acclimatization Healthy shoots having 5-7cm length (4-6 leaf stage) were separated and transferred to rooting media containing full or half strength MS and Indole butyric acid, (IBA, 0.5 mg/l) with or without activated charcoal (1.0 %, w/v). Well rooted plantlets were removed from the culture bottles, gently washed in sterile water to remove agar, transferred to plastic pots containing sterile soilrite and covered with transparent polyethylene sheet to maintain humidity. After 15–25 days the hardened plants were transplanted to pots filled with potting mixture 2:1:1 (garden soil, sand and farmyard manure), allowed to grow in greenhouse and percentage of survival was recorded 3 weeks after transplantation. Statistical analysis The data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA, SPSS software package for Windows, release 15.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) to analyze the influence of the basal media and the concentrations of plant growth regulators on mulberry shoot proliferation. Significant difference between means were assessed by Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) (P = 0.05) (Gomez and Gomez, 1976). RESULTS Effect of growth regulators on multiple shoot induction Culture of nodal explants inoculated on MS medium supplemented with plant growth regulators increased 256 Int. Res. J. Plant Sci. multiple shoot production as compared to hormone free medium (Table 1). Nodal explants inoculated on MS medium supplemented with different concentration/combination(s) of growth regulators initiated multiple shoot buds within 2 weeks of inoculation. The MS medium fortified with BAP (1.0 mg/l), TDZ (0.1 mg/l) and NAA (0.25 mg/l) showed a maximum regeneration of 85.67% (Table 1). Higher concentrations of BAP (2.0 and 3.0 mg/l) along with TDZ (0.1 mg/l) and NAA (0.25 mg/l) resulted in reduction of regeneration as compared to lower dose of BAP (1.0 mg/l) (Table 1). Similarly, the shoot number was 7.33 per explant in MS medium fortified with BAP (1.0 mg/l), TDZ (0.1 mg/l) and NAA (0.25 mg/l), which was reduced to 5.67 and 4.33 when BAP concentrations were increased to 2.0 and 3.0 mg/l, respectively (Table 1; Figure 1a). When nodal explants inoculated on MS medium containing either BAP or TDZ, a maximum regeneration efficiency of 68.33 and 64.00% was observed at 1.0 and 0.1 mg/l BAP and TDZ, respectively (Table 1). The average number of shoots formed per explant varied significantly (P<0.05) between the different treatments, and BAP at concentration of 1.0 mg/l induced 4.33 shoots per explant with an average shoot length of 4.93 cm. When TDZ was supplemented with MS medium, there was significant reduction in shoot length (Table 1; Figure 1b). Significant difference was noticed in the average number of leaves produced between the treatments. A maximum of 4.67 leaves per explant was observed when MS medium was supplemented with BAP (1.0 mg/l), TDZ (0.1 mg/l) and NAA (0.25 mg/l) (Table 1). Effect of secondary medium in proliferation and elongation The effect of secondary medium in mulberry shoot proliferation and elongation was statistically significant in all treatments (P<0.05). After 45 days of culture in initiation medium, shoots regenerated were sub-cultured in different concentration/combination(s) of GA3 containing secondary medium. Transfer of explants to secondary medium increased proliferation and elongated shoots (Table 2, Figure 1c). The secondary culture medium containing GA3, BAP and NAA was found to be suitable for multiple shoot induction. The secondary medium, with 0.5, 1 and 0.25 mg/l GA3, BAP and NAA, respectively seems to be the best combination for shoot proliferation and elongation. Repeated subculture in the same secondary medium induced higher shoot proliferation with an average of 64.33 shoots per explant (Table 2, Figure 1d). The maximum length of the shoots obtained was 5.20 cm in the secondary medium supplemented with GA3 (0.5 mg/l) with BAP (1.0 mg/l) and NAA (0.25 mg/l) (Table 2). There was no difference in the number of leaves produced per explant in different treatments in secondary medium after 40 days of subculture (Table 2). Prolonged exposure to secondary medium resulted in the production of vitrified shoots with callus formation at the base of micro shoots (Figure 1e). Rooting and plant acclimatization Single healthy elongated shoots subcultured on rooting media (MS + IBA, 0.5 mg/l) with or without activated charcoal (1%, w/v) showed 100% initiations of roots (Table 2; Figure 1f). Healthy, white colored and thick roots were noticed 2 weeks after subculture, which subsequently turned brown after 4 weeks in the same medium (Table 2; Figure 1g). The frequency and nature of roots induced from regenerated shoots were similar in the presence or absence of activated charcoal (data not shown). Well rooted plantlets transferred to sterile soilrite in plastic pots were easily acclimatized to ex vitro conditions and showed a survival rate of 100% (Figure 1h). Fully grown plants were subsequently transplanted to large pots and maintained in the green house. The in vitro grown plants showed robust growth with 98% survival in the greenhouse. DISCUSSION This work describes a robust multiple shoot induction protocol in mulberry variety V1 using nodal explants. We noticed significant difference in regeneration frequency, shoot number; shoot length among various PGR’s which was similar to earlier reports in Morus alba (Chitra and Padmaja, 2005) and H. abyssinica (Feyissa et al. 2005). Anis et al. (2003) reported the maximum regeneration efficiency of 80% in mulberry followed by Kim et al. (1985) (76%), Oka and Ohyama (1986) (53%) and Narayan et al. (1989) (50%). In our study, a maximum regeneration efficiency of 85.67% were obtained with BAP (1.0 mg/l), TDZ (0.1 mg/l) and NAA (0.25 mg/l) which is the highest reported with nodal explants in Morus species. Earlier reports by Kim et al. (1985) and Vijayan et al. (1998) suggest that combination of PGRs was found to be most effective in inducing higher percentage of multiple shoots than individual ones. The combination of BAP, TDZ and NAA was found to be better in inducing multiple shoots. TDZ is known to be effective for woody plant tissue culture (Huetteman and Preece 1993), which can stimulate shoot proliferation in many recalcitrant species such as Cercis canadensis var. alba L. (Yusnita et al. 1990), muscadine grape (Gray and Benton 1991) and Quercus robur L. (English oak; Chalupa, 1988). We noticed similar kind of response in mulberry (var. V1) where in, multiple shoots were induced from nodal explants at a high frequency on MS medium containing TDZ. Higher concentrations of TDZ in culture media favored the regeneration efficiency but affected the shoot number in Sajeevan et al. 257 Table 1: Effect of various combinations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), Thidiazuron (TDZ) and α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on regeneration (%), number of shoots, length of shoots and number of leaves per explant of nodal cultures of Morus alba var. V1. Data were collected after 45 days of culture in initiation medium Treatments Plant Growth Regulators (mg/l) Regeneration (%) No of shoots /explant BAP TDZ NAA T1 - - - 45.33 ± 3.53 gh 1.33 ± 0.33 T2 0.5 - - 57.33 ± 3.53 cdefg 2.67 ± 0.33 cde T3 1.0 - - 68.33 ± 4.00 bc 4.33 ± 0.67 bc T4 1.5 - - 53.33 ± 3.53 defgh 3.67 ± 0.33 T5 2.0 - - 46.67 ± 5.81 T6 2.5 - - T7 3.0 - T8 - T9 e Average length of shoots(cm) Average no. of leaves/explant 2.67 ± 0.43 cd 3.33 ± 0.33 bc 4.00 ± 0.12 b 3.33 ± 0.33 bc 4.93 ± 0.18 a 4.00 ± 0.58 abc cd 4.13 ± 0.35 b 4.00 ± 0.58 abc gh 4.00 ± 0.58 cd 4.13 ± 0.24 b 4.33 ± 0.33 ab 64.00 ± 7.06 bcde 3.00 ± 0.90 cde 4.10 ± 0.10 b 3.33 ± 0.33 bc - 65.33 ± 2.31 bcd 3.33 ± 0.33 cd 4.23 ± 0.23 b 4.00 ± 0.00 abc 0.1 - 64.00 ± 3.53 bcde 3.33 ± 0.33 cd 1.87 ± 0.18 fgh 4.33 ± 0.33 ab - 0.25 - 46.67 ± 4.62 gh 3.33 ± 0.67 cd 1.53 ± 0.09 hi 3.33 ± 0.33 bc T10 - 0.50 - 45.33 ± 3.53 gh 2.67 ± 0.88 cde 1.70 ± 0.17 ghi 3.67 ± 0.33 abc T11 - 0.75 - 50.67 ± 3.53 fgh 3.67 ± 0.33 cd 1.90 ± 0.15 efgh 3.33 ± 0.33 bc T12 - 1.0 - 54.67 ± 4.81 defgh 2.33 ± 0.33 de 2.43 ± 0.29 cdef 3.33 ± 0.33 bc T13 - 1.25 - 52.00 ± 5.81 efgh 2.33 ± 0.33 de 1.67 ± 0.18 hi 3.67 ± 0.33 abc T14 - 1.50 - 50.67 ± 2.31 fgh 2.67 ± 0.33 cde 1.50 ± 0.06 hi 3.33 ± 0.33 bc T15 - 1.75 - 44.00 ± 3.53 h 2.67 ± 0.33 cde 1.13 ± 0.09 i 3.67 ± 0.33 abc T16 - 2.0 - 42.67 ± 2.31 h 3.00 ± 0.58 cde 1.20 ± 0.12 i 3.00 ± 0.00 c T17 1 0.1 0.25 85.67 ± 3.53 a 7.33 ± 0.33 a 3.00 ± 0.15 c 4.67 ± 0.33 a T18 2 0.1 0.25 62.67 ± 1.20 bcdef 5.67 ± 0.33 b 2.53 ± 0.30 cde 4.00 ± 0.58 abc T19 3 0,1 0.25 74.67 ± 5.81 ab 4.33 ± 0.88 bc 2.33 ± 0.20 defg 4.33 ± 0.33 ab Means ± SE followed by different letters are significantly different at P=0.05 according to the Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Regeneration efficiency was calculated by (number of explants regenerated / total number to explants inoculated) x 100. 258 Int. Res. J. Plant Sci. Figure 1: In vitro multiplication of Morus alba variety V1. (a) Multiple shoots emerging from the basal region, (b) Cluster of short shoots in culture medium containing TDZ, (c) Elongated multiple shoots growing on culture medium, (d) Multiple shoots after 2 subcultures, (e) Vitrified shoots in culture medium, (f) Plantlets with healthy roots in root-induction medium, (g) Plantlet with well developed roots after 4 weeks, (h) In vitro grown plant. Figure 2: Schematic representation showing time frame for in vitro establishment of Morus alba variety V1. Sajeevan et al. 259 Table 2: Effect of various combinations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), gibberellic acid (GA3) and α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on number of shoots per explant and length of shoots of nodal cultures of Morus alba var. V1. Data were collected after 40 days of culture in secondary medium. Treatments Plant Growth Regulators (mg/l) No of shoots /explant Average length of shoots (cm) Average no. of leaves/explant Rooting (%) BAP GA3 NAA T1 - 0.25 - 30.33 ± 2.40 e 4.70 ± 0.35 ab 3.67 ± 0.33 a 95.33 ± 0.33 a T2 - 0.5 - 42.33 ± 2.60 d 4.80 ± 0.12 ab 4.00 ± 0.57 a 98.66 ± 0.33 a T3 - 1.0 - 42.33 ± 2.40 d 4.57 ± 0.15 bc 4.33 ± 0.33 a 98.00 ± 0.58 a T4 1 0.25 0.25 49.33 ± 3.48 cd 5.03 ± 0.18 ab 4.00 ± 0.00 a 100.00 ± 0.00 a T5 2 0.25 0.25 53.33 ± 2.33 bc 4.93 ± 0.20 ab 4.33 ± 0.33 a 97.66 ± 0.33 a T6 3 0.25 0.25 61.00 ± 1.53 ab 4.90 ± 0.06 ab 3.67 ± 0.33 a 98.66 ± 0.33 a T7 1 0.5 0.25 64.33 ± 3.18 a 5.20 ± 0.11 a 4.63 ± 0.33 a 100.00 ± 0.00 a T8 2 0.5 0.25 62.67 ± 2.40 a 4.80 ± 0.15 ab 3.33 ± 0.33 a 98.66 ± 0.33 a T9 3 0.5 0.25 58.67 ± 1.86 ab 4.10 ± 0.10 c 3.67 ± 0.33 a 97.33 ± 0.33 a T10 1 1.0 0.25 57.67 ± 4.18 ab 4.87 ± 0.03 ab 3.67 ± 0.33 a 98.66 ± 0.33 a T11 2 1.0 0.25 54.33 ± 2.33 bc 4.73 ± 0.18 ab 4.00 ± 0.58 a 95.33 ± 0.33 a T12 3 1.0 0.25 49.33 ± 0.88 cd 4.17 ± 0.12 c 4.33 ± 0.33 a 97.66 ± 0.33 a Means ± SE followed by different letters are significantly different at P=0.05 according to the Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT). 260 Int. Res. J. Plant Sci. subsequent subcultures due to callus formation. Reduced concentration of TDZ in the media greatly increased the regeneration efficiency and shoots induction without callus formation. Recent research on the propagation of Holarrhena antidysenterica (Mallikarjuna et al. 2007) also showed that TDZ is more effective at lower concentrations. The inhibitory effects of TDZ on shoot elongation have been reported previously by Preece and Imel (1991), Feyissa et al. (2005), Raghu et al. (2006) and Lyyra et al. (2006) and our results are in agreement with the findings above. A two-step regeneration strategy, using TDZ to induce shoot formation followed by TDZ-free medium to promote shoot proliferation and elongation, has been reported for northern high bush blueberry cultivars and wild low bush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) (Song and Sink 2004; Debnath 2005; 2009). Interestingly, in this study, repeated subculture (2 cycles of 20 days interval) in secondary medium containing GA3, BAP and NAA significantly increased multiple shoots, with an average of 64.33 shoots per explant. Such modifications in media compositions have produced useful results in a few species such as apple (Fasolo et al,. 1989), pear (Singha and Bhatia 1988), and Populus (Russell and McCown 1986). Prolonged exposure to secondary medium resulted in the production of abnormal shoots, with brittle leaves having a glassy appearance called “vitrification”. This phenomenon has also been observed in previous studies (Zhou et al., 2000; Ozden-Tokatli et al., 2005; Chandra et al., 2006; Siddique and Anis, 2007). Li et al. (2003) proposed that excess of cytokinins along with the high water potential of the medium were the major reasons for the vitrification of plantlets. The vitrified shoots transferred to PGR free medium regained normal growth and development. Spontaneous rooting was observed in a few treatments during the proliferation phase in secondary medium containing NAA. The plantlets thus obtained could be planted directly and acclimatized without passing through the rooting phase in vitro. Those plantlets that did not produce spontaneous roots in secondary medium were cultured in rooting medium with IBA (0.5 mg/l) with or without activated charcoal (1.0%, w/v). Root initiation of cultured plantlets was observed within 15 days of culturing and 100% rooting was noticed. High frequencies of root induction were also reported for other plant species such as Beta vulgaris (Gürel et al., 1995) and Juniperus phoenicea (Loureiro et al. 2007). Well rooted plantlets exhibited normal growth under green house conditions with 98% survival rate. Plants derived from multiple shoot induction protocol showed no apparent difference in phenotype after 4 months of growing in the greenhouse. CONCLUSION The present work describes an effective, high frequency multiple shoot induction protocol for Indian mulberry variety, V1 using nodal shoot segments. A two step approach involving establishment of cultures on the specific initiation medium (MS + BAP + TDZ + NAA) for 45 days and subsequent transfer to the secondary medium (MS + BAP + NAA + GA3) resulted in further proliferation and elongation of shoots. Repeated subcultures in secondary medium produced 64.33 shoots per explant and well rooted, healthy plantlets were hardened and successfully established in the greenhouse conditions. The micro-propagation system described in this study (Figure 2) provides an effective means for the large-scale propagation of high yielding mulberry varieties. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We gratefully acknowledge the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, New Delhi, for providing financial support to carry out this work. 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