In vitro Micropropagation of Summer Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum L.) from Bulb Scale and Immature Embryo Explants

Leucojum aestivum is an important medicinal and ornamental plant due to the its alkaloid contents and beautiful flowers. However, this species suffers from low propagation rate under natural conditions and is threatened by excessive collection from nature. In this study for the purpose of rapid in vitro propagation of L. aestivum, two and four bulb scale, and immature embryo explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing different concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The concentration of plant growth regulators, their combinations, and explant type had major influence on in vitro bulblet regeneration. The highest mean number of bulblets per explant (6.17) on bulb scales was obtained from MS medium containing 1 mg/l BAP and 1 mg/l NAA after 9 months in culture. Bulblet regeneration was much lower on immature embryos than bulb scales, and the highest number of bulblets per embryo explant (2.27) was achieved on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l BAP and 4 mg/l NAA after 5 months of culture initiation. In vitro regenerated bulblets were successfully rooted on MS medium with 1 mg/l NAA and finally transferred to potting mixture for acclimatization to external conditions.