Sugar Accumulation by in vitro Cultured Juice Vesicles of Satsuma Mandarin

Abstract

Juice vesicle explants including some mesocarp tissue excised from young satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc. cv. Miyagawa wase) fruit, were cultured in vitro on MS solid medium supplemented with 1 mg/L BA and 5 or 10% sucrose under dark conditions at 25°C. The juice vesicles grew expansively and turned orange. The juice vesicles accumulated sugar when cultured on the medium supplemented with 10% sucrose and incubated for two months. Sugar composition in the cultured juice vesicles differed from that of fruit grown in the field. The in vitro culture of juice vesicles may aid in elucidating the mechanism of sugar accumulation and other compounds in Citrus fruit.