Plant Regeneration by Tissue Culture from Immature Seeds of Magnolia sieboldii subsp. japonica

Abstract

Magnolia sieboldii subsp. japonica (Oyama renge) is a deciduous tree that is native to Japan. This tree has value as a rarity because it is designated as an endangered species in some prefectures and, therefore, its conservation and reproduction are very important. We initially cultured immature seeds on Lepoivre medium (LP), half of nitrogen source of Murashige and Skoog medium (1/2N MS) and Woody Plant Medium (WPM) containing α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) as an auxin and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) as a cytokinin. Proembryogenic masses (PEMs) were induced directly from immature seeds and somatic embryos were induced from PEMs. Immature seeds one to three weeks after flowering might be suitable to induce PEMs. Some somatic embryos formed roots and hypocotyls under condition of lighting. Finally, we transferred the somatic embryo-derived plantlets to soil in pots and the plantlets continued to grow. Thus, we developed a tissue culture system for plant regeneration for the propagation of M. sieboldii subsp. japonica.