Cultivar specific response of callus induction and plant regeneration from mature embryos in different elite Indian wheat

Abstract

To develop a successful cultivar-independent in vitro plant regeneration protocol in wheat, mature embryos of nine Indian elite wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars were taken to establish a reliable effective, reproducible callus culture and plant regeneration procedure. Two different auxins, naphtalenacetic acid (NAA) and dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and wo different cytokinins, 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) and kinetin (Kn) were assessed in several combinations for their effect on callus induction and plant regeneration from mature embryos in nine elite Indian wheat cultivars. The cultivar-dependent substantial variances were noted in per cent of regeneration response. The callus induction was assessed in terms of size of callus induced in seven days of initiation. Induction of callus did happen in all cultivars on all media combinations tried, though there was difference in size of callus induced in different cultivars cultured with different combination of growth regulators. However, the induced callus, irrespective of cultivar when nurtured on MS media supplemented with 2,4-D (4.0 mg/L) and NAA (1.0 mg/L or 2.0 mg/L) showed prominent callus growth. There were significant differences among the nine cultivars in regeneration of shoots from embryonal callus on the various shooting media used. In spite of cultivar dependent response, the MS media supplemented with kn (2.0 mg/L), NAA (0.5mg/L) and BAP (0.5 mg/L) was identified as the best media for shoot regeneration for some of the elite Indian cultivars.