Abstract
Most Chinese artichoke plants cultivated in Akita, Fukui and Yamagata Prefectures, Japan, were found to be infected with viruses. In this study, we produced virus-free plants through shoot tip culture of axillary buds. Shoot tips formed multiple shoots on MS medium containing 0.5 mg·liter-1 BA, or formed callus that subsequently developed adventitious shoots on MS medium with 0.5 mg·liter-1 BA. When these shoots were excised and transferred to hormone-free MS medium, they developed roots. Inoculation tests, RT-PCR assays and visual observations of rooted plantlets that readily acclimatized in a greenhouse, indicated that three were virus-free.
