Somatic Embryogenesis and Plant Regeneration from Various Explants of Golden Pothos

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Pothos (Epipremnum aureum Linden & Andre), a climbing vine with leathery, shiny-surfaced, solid green or variegated heart-shaped leaves, is widely grown as an ornamental tropical foliage plant in hanging baskets or on poles as climbers for interiorscaping. Since pothos easily develops roots from nodes, its propagation is mainly from eye cuttings. Eye cuttings, however, frequently carry diseases from stock plants into production greenhouses. The objectives of this study were to investigate if somatic embryogenesis could be induced from a common cultivar `Golden Pothos' and germinated somatic embryos could be a means of clean propagule production. Using a modified MS medium supplemented with 2 mg·L-1 CPPU or TDZ and 0.2 mg·L-1 NAA or 0.5 mg·L-1 2,4-D, somatic embryos formed directly at cut edges of leaf explants, around petiole and stem explant ends, and along their side surfaces. Most somatic embryos maturated and grew into multiple buds or shoots; some of them developed into whole plants on the original medium. Somatic embryos also germinated and developed into plants on MS medium containing 2 mg·L-1 Zeatin and 0.2 mg·L-1 NAA, MS or 1/2 MS containing 2 mg·L-1 BA with or without 0.2 mg·L-1 NAA. Shoots elongated and roots grew on PGR-free medium. Plantlets grew healthy in shaded greenhouses after transferring to soilless substrates. This study suggests that the established method of somatic embryogenesis can be used to generate disease-free propagules of pothos for production.