Abstract
Research about the use of natural light associated to changes in sucrose levels demonstrated potential in promoting in vitro hardiness of tropical climate species, as well as reducing production costs. However, little is known about physiological and structural changes that happen in the process. This study evaluated the physiological and anatomic performance, and ex vitro survival of micropropagated banana plants in response to cultivation conditions, in the stage of in vitro rooting. Shoots of the 'Caipira' cultivar were cultivated in MS medium, supplemented with 1 mg L-1 NAA and 6 g L-1 agar, in which the following treatments were applied: two sucrose concentrations (15 g L-1 or 30 g L-1) and two cultivation conditions (Natural light - greenhouse and Artificial light - growth chamber). At the end of 45 days, the contents of chlorophyll a, b and total, the relative water content in the tissues, anatomic characteristics and the ex vitro survival were evaluated. Effects of growth environment and sucrose concentration were observed on micropropagated 'Caipira' banana anatomy, physiology and survival. In vitro rooting of the shoots under natural light in the medium containing 15 g L-1 or 30 g L-1 sucrose promoted major alteration in the increase of palisade and spongy parenchyma, as well as reducing leaf water loss and plant death. The results obtained in the present study confirm the potential of the use of natural light as a substitute for artificial light for micropropagation of tropical species.
Highlights
In vitro propagation has been extensively used as an alternative and efficient method for quick propagation of several plant species (Hazarika, 2006)
This study evaluated the physiological and anatomic performance, and ex vitro survival of micropropagated banana plants in response to cultivation conditions, in the stage of in vitro rooting
The treatments were analyzed in a 2 × 2 factorial design, and were composed of sucrose concentrations (15 g L–1 or 30 g L–1) and culturing environments
Summary
In vitro propagation has been extensively used as an alternative and efficient method for quick propagation of several plant species (Hazarika, 2006). Micropropagation under heterotrophic conditions is responsible for the induction of plant’s physiological and structural modifications, considered as different from that obtained in ex vitro plants (Yokota et al, 2007), such as low regulation mechanism of water loss, mainly due to inefficient stomata functionality and the formation of epicuticular wax (Lamhanedi et al, 2003), and reduced development of photosynthetic tissues (Amâncio et al, 1999). Studies include only few species, mainly using the natural light as an alternative to the illumination with fluorescent bulbs, but without evaluating the effects on plant morphology and physiology. The objective in this study was to evaluate the physiological and anatomic performance, and ex vitro survival of micropropagated banana plants in response to the cultivation conditions, in the stage of in vitro rooting
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