An Efficient Novel Method of Producing Virus Free Plants from Garlic Root Meristem

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is an important crop with anti-AIDS, anticancer, and anti-vascular diseases and anti-infectious properties. Commercially cultivated clones have been shown to be infected with a complex of viruses that include leek yellow stripe virus (LYSV), onion yellow dwarf virus (OYDV), shallot (garlic) latent virus (SLV, GLV), garlic common latent virus (GCLV), and garlic viruses (GarVs) (Walkey, 1990; Ayabe and Sumi, 2001) causing severe yield and quality losses. Plant tissue culture is an efficient tool for the elimination of viruses from infected plants. Like other species, garlic shoot meristem culture has long been used for the production of virus-free plants (Walkey, 1990). However, the production and propagation rate of virus-free plantlets is very low (Ayabe and Sumi, 2001). Moreover, excision of meristems containing only two primordial leaves under microscope is a laborious, time-consuming procedure. Root tips of plants infected with viruses were found to be free from detectable virus (Appiano and D’Agostino, 1983). Unfortunately, production of virus free plant from root meristem was not possible.

We found direct shoot regeneration from the root meristem (Haque et al., 1997, 1999). Here we report successful elimination of viruses and production of virus free garlic plantlets by root meristem culture.