GENETIC FIDELITY ASSESSMENT OF OPERCULINA TURPETHUM (L.) SILVA MANSO: A THREATENED MEDICINAL PLANT OF SOUTH INDIA

Operculina turpethum (L.) Silva Manso.a species indigenous to Western Ghats and popularly known as 'trivrit' is a perennial climber belonging to the family Convolvulaceae.Shoot was multiplied using nodal explants cultured on MS medium supplemented with various concentrations and combinations of growth regulators like BAP, Kinetin and NAA.But while micropropagating, the explants subjected to different media composition, various concentrations of growth regulators, light intensity and in-vitro stresses might result in the development of somaclonal variations causing mutation, chromosomal aberrations or damage in nucleic acid.The present investigation was carried out at ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR-IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru in order to check the homogeneity of micropropagated plants with the mother plant using ten RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) markers.All the banding patterns obtained from the micropropagated plants were monomorphic and similar to the mother plant, indicating no genetic variations among the in-vitro raised plants of O. turpethum.This study is having significance as it could be commercially utilized for the production of true-to-type plants in O. turpethum.