Standard conditions for plant regeneration from leaf protoplasts of several Lycopersicon species

Abstract

Summary The standardization of conditions for regenerating plants from protoplasts of different wild Lycopersicon species (L. peruvianum (L.) Mill., L. chilense Dun., L. pennellii (Corr.) d'Arcy, L. hirsutum Humbl. & Bonpl.) and a related species (Solanum lycopersicoides Dun.) was studied. A first step of tissue culture was used to determine the regeneration ability of accessions. A correlation between shoot regeneration from leaf discs and from mesophyll protoplasts is apparent and it seems that shoot regeneration from leaf discs could be used for a rapid pre-screening of regeneration capacity from protoplasts of different wild Lycopersicon species. In a second step, a method of isolation and culture of protoplasts used in our laboratory for tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) was applied in order to obtain the regeneration of plants for the different wild Lycopersicon species. Under our culture conditions, protoplasts isolated from plants of four wild Lycopersicon species grown in the greenhouse regenerated into plantlets within 3 months with a relatively high efficiency. The method described is simple, efficient and could be used in somatic hybridization involving tomato.