In vitro Plantlet Formation in Linum marginale From Cotyledons, Hypocotyls, Leaves, Roots and Protoplasts

Abstract

Regeneration of shoots from cotyledons, hypocotyls, roots, leaf explants and callus derived from pro- toplasts of Linum marginale was achieved in vitro on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium with various combinations of growth substances. The regeneration capacity of explants from the various sources and their responses to the various media differed considerably. Hypocotyls seemed to be the best explant source for bud regeneration, followed by roots. The optimal combination of growth substances for bud regeneration on hypocotyl explants was 0.02 mg L^-1 NAA, 1 mg L^-1 6-BA and 20 mg L^-1 adenine and on root explants, 1 mg L ^-1 zeatin. Protoplasts were readily isolated and cultured from shoots, and buds were regenerated from the resulting callus on media with various combinations of growth substances. The best medium was MS medium with 5 mg L^-1 zeatin. About 10% of shoots from the various sources formed roots after transfer to MS medium. These regeneration results are assessed with respect to the possible use of various plant genetic engineering techniques to generate genetically transformed plants of L. marginale.