Microclonal propagation of Cardiocrinum cordatum var. glehnii (Liliaceae) using the culture of isolated embryos

The article presents the results of experiments on the introduction of Cardiocrinum cordatum var. glehnii (F. Schmidt) H. Hara into the in vitro culture using isolated embryos. In nature, the seeds of this species germinate within two years, which is associated with a complex morphophysiological type of dormancy, in which seed germination is preceded by a period of further development of the embryo inside the seed. In order to speed up the production of plantlets, a method of culturing isolated embryos in vitro was used. Embryos were isolated from both mature seeds without stratification and from seeds that had undergone stratification at different temperature conditions. The use of embryos isolated from the non-stratified seeds for the introduction into in vitro culture was shown to be ineffective. In most cases, embryo growth either did not occur at all, or was accompanied by various anomalies; ultimately, the plantlets became necrotic. Embryos that underwent further development after stratification were capable of forming normal plantlets, which were subsequently used for microclonal propagation. The use of transverse segments of the bulb above its stem was found to be most efficient. The development of additional bulb-like structures was observed at the base of sections of the fleshy bases of leaves. After the transfer to the Murashige and Skoog medium with half the content of macro and micro salts, the plantlets formed adventitious roots and normally developed leaves. Additional shoots were successfully used for subsequent micropropagation cycles.