Effects of cytokinins on micropropagation of Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle C. Jeffrey, a sweetening plant

Abstract

In order to standardize the cytokinins (CTK) for the micropropagation of the sweetening plant, Siraitia grosvenori Swingle C. Jeffrey, comparative studies have been conducted using three kinds of cytokinins, viz., LFS, N6-BA (BA) and Kinetin (KT). The results showed that: the medium treatment with 0.2 mg l−1 of LFS induced the axillary buds of the explants to germinate and grow quickly and vigorously but the formation of callus was significantly retarded during initial culture. Besides, during the propagation culture, this treatment induced the formation of adventitious roots without adding any auxin, promoted the fast growth of stems and leaves, and more than 90% of plantlets grew to complete plantlets with root system. However, the medium treatments with 0.2 mg l−1 of BA and KT accelerated the formation of callus but retarded the germination of axillary buds during the initial culture, and retarded the formation of adventitious roots during the propagation culture, respectively. Besides, no explants grew into complete plantlets during initial culture and only 10% of plantlets grew into complete plantlets during propagation culture. The application of LFS could improve the production efficiency of the tissue culture of Siraitia grosvenori Swingle C. Jeffrey and might be beneficial for maintaining the genetic stability of tissue-cultured plantlets.