Abstract
A number of Aloe species are facing an extremely high risk of extinction due to habitat loss and over-exploitation for medicinal and ornamental trade. The last global assessment of Aloe peglerae Schönland (in 2003) ranked its global conservation status as ‘endangered’ with a decreasing population trend. In the National Red List of South African Plants, the extremely rapid decline of this species has resulted in its conservation status being elevated from ‘endangered’ to ‘critically endangered’ based on recent or new field information. This dramatic decline necessitates the development of a simple, rapid and efficient micropropagation protocol as a conservation measure. An in vitro propagation protocol was therefore established with the regeneration of 12 shoots per shoot-tip explant within 8 weeks using Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.5 µM meta-topolin riboside (an aromatic cytokinin). The rooting of the shoots with a 100% frequency on half-strength MS medium without any plant growth resulted in additional six shoots produced per cultured shoot. The resultant plantlets were successfully acclimatized with a 100% survival frequency after 6 weeks. Overall, the developed protocol can result in the production of 3906 transplantable shoots that are ready for rooting per annum from a single shoot-tip explant. It is simple and efficient for seedling production in the ex situ cultivation and conservation of the endangered A. peglerae.
Highlights
The succulent Aloe genus (Asphodelaceae) comprises of over 500 recognized species distributed throughout the world in different growth forms, ranging from very small shrubs to large trees [1,2].Majority of the species are distributed on the African continent [3], especially in the southern and eastern regions, with high centers of diversity in South Africa (±155 Aloe species) and Madagascar (±145 Aloe species) [4]
All the cytokinin types and concentrations, with the exception of 15 μM BA, mT and meta-topolin riboside (mTR) as well as 10 μM BA, significantly increased shoot production when compared to the control (PGR-free) treatment
An increase in cytokinin concentration gave a decrease in the number of shoots ≥ 1 cm in length
Summary
The succulent Aloe genus (Asphodelaceae) comprises of over 500 recognized species distributed throughout the world in different growth forms, ranging from very small shrubs to large trees [1,2].Majority of the species are distributed on the African continent [3], especially in the southern and eastern regions, with high centers of diversity in South Africa (±155 Aloe species) and Madagascar (±145 Aloe species) [4]. Aloe species are traditionally used in the treatment of injuries, infections, digestive ailments, inflammation, arthritis, insect bites and as a laxative, amongst others [1,2,3]. Due to their increasing rarity and trade demand amongst other factors, all Aloe species with the exception of Aloe vera are included at least in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora [7] for their protection.
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