Efficient plant regeneration from protoplasts of eggplant rootstock cultivar and its wild relatives

Abstract

Protoplast culture and shoot regeneration from protoplast-derived calli were compared among different organs of Solanum integrifolium and three of its wild relatives (S. abutiloides, S. scabrum, and S. toxicarium). Leaves, cotyledons, and hypocotyls were used as sources of protoplast preparation. After one month of culture, a high frequency of visible colony formation was obtained from cotyledon protoplasts of S. integrifolium and S. scabrum, hypocotyl protoplasts of S. integrifolium and S. abutiloides, and leaf protoplasts of S. integrifolium and S. toxicarium. In addition, when the primary culture was started at a density of 2.5−5×10⁴ protoplasts ml⁻¹, the highest frequency of colony formation was obtained. Moreover, when the colonies were subcultured for 7 days on solid callus-proliferation medium before being transferred to shoot-induction medium, the plant regeneration frequency improved to between 91.8 and 98.8%.