Thidiazuron in Micropropagation of Aroid Plants

Abstract

Thidiazuron (TDZ) or phenyl-N′-(1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl) urea is a synthetic phenyl urea derivative and possesses strong cytokinin-like activity exceeding that of most other commonly used adenine-type cytokinins in regulating plant morphogenesis. In this article, we devote our attention to the use of TDZ in micropropagation of plants in the family Araceae, commonly known as aroids. This family has 3750 recognized species across 114 genera. A large number of genera are important ornamental plants, particularly in the foliage plant industry. Some genera are produced for edible roots or used as medicinal plants, and a few others are aquatic plants. Aroids are traditionally propagated through cutting, division, rhizomes, or tubers. Vegetative propagation not only carries plant pathogens but also significantly slows the speed in the introduction of new cultivars. Our research over the years has focused on the development of methods for micropropagating aroid plants. TDZ has been shown to be an important plant growth regulator for efficient micropropagation of aroid plants via in vitro shoot culture and plant regeneration through the route of shoot organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, and protocorm-like bodies (PLBs). Mechanisms underlying TDZ-mediated plant regeneration are still largely unknown, but the established regeneration systems derived from our work on aroids present valuable models for molecular analysis of TDZ-mediated plant morphogenesis.