Somatic Embryogenesis from Cell Suspension Cultures of Taranoki (Aralia elata)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to increase the formation rate of embryos from suspension cultures of Taranoki (Aralia elata). The suspension cultures were prepared from leaf-derived calli. Of the various culture durations, 30 days of culture yielded the best growth of cell suspension cultures in a BT liquid medium supplemented with 2,4-D. Somatic embryogenesis has never been observed without the addition of exogenous plant growth regulators (PGRs). The highest percentage of somatic embryo formation (93.3%) was observed in a BT liquid medium supplemented with 1.0 μM BAP+5.0 μM 2,4-D. The PGR-free semi-solid BT medium showed the highest regeneration frequency of cotyledonary-shaped embryos (100%).