Plant regeneration from alginate-encapsulated somatic embryos of <i style="">Dalbergia sissoo</i> Roxb.

Abstract

A method has been developed for plant regeneration by encapsulation of somatic embryos obtained from callus cultures derived from semi-mature cotyledon explants of <i style="">Dalbergia sissoo</i> Roxb. (family Fabaceae). Embryogenic callus was developed from cotyledon pieces on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium supplemented with 9.04 m<i style="">M</i> 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 0.46 m<i style="">M</i> kinetin. The somatic embryos were induced from embryogenic callus on hormone free ½-MS medium with 2% sucrose. Cotyledonary stage somatic embryos were encapsulated using sodium alginate (2.5%) and calcium chloride (75 m<i style="">M</i>) as gelling matrix. The highest frequency (43.3%) for conversion of encapsulated somatic embryos into plantlets was achieved on ½-MS medium with 2% sucrose. Plantlets with well developed shoots and roots were established in pots containing autoclaved mixture of peat moss and soil. Under <i style="">ex vitro</i> conditions, the conversion of encapsulated somatic embryos into plantlets was also achieved when these were directly sown in autoclaved peat moss moistened with ½-MS0 medium.