Bud Induction and Observation of In Vitro Flowering from the Callus of Ananas bracteatus var. tricolor

Abstract

In natural conditions, it takes more than 3 years to complete the Ananas juvenile phase, and another 2 years for adult vegetative growth of the plantlet from in vitro buds. Ethylene has often been used to shorten the juvenile and vegetative phases to produce earlier flowering. It is important to induce in vitro flowering of Ananas plants to understand the flowering mechanism more completely, which is also related to flower organ differentiation and development as well as the pineapple fruit eye development. In this study, Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium was used to select the best combination for adventitious bud induction from the callus of Ananas bracteatus var. tricolor (A. tricolor). Flower induction from the callus was studied using 6-benzyladenine (6-BA) and 1-naphthylacetic acid (NAA) at four different concentrations (0, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 mg⋅L–1). Our results showed that when MS was added with 3 mg⋅L–1 6-BA and 2 mg⋅L–1 NAA under 2000 μmol⋅m–2⋅s–1 of light for 16 hours per day at a temperature of 20 °C, the callus of A. tricolor grew quickly, and adventitious buds were induced. After more than four successive subcultures (at day 80), differentiation of flower buds was observed on the aging callus tissue before a complete floral organ developed. This research could be used for the flowering regulation of Ananas plants in the future. Inducing flowers directly from the callus has important scientific significance for the differentiation and morphogenesis of Ananas plants.