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In vitro plant regeneration from immature cotyledon explants of macadamia (Macadamia tetraphylla L. Johnson)

Plant Cell Reports volume 25, pages 1281–1286 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The macadamia tree, an Australian native, is highly valued for its nuts. Macadamia improvement programs so far have relied on conventional breeding and selection. The production of improved cultivars required to meet future demands could be accelerated by the application of modern biotechnological techniques, but this requires an efficient and reproducible regeneration system that has not yet been established for macadamia. We report here shoot regeneration from immature cotyledon explants of macadamia. Adventitious buds were induced on the cotyledon explants from fruits collected at 140 and 190 days after full bloom (DAFB) on MS medium supplemented with either 10 or 15 μM TDZ. The addition of 2% coconut milk (CM) to 10 μM TDZ containing media resulted in enhanced adventitious bud induction from 190 DAFB explants. Further shoot development from the induced buds was depressed in media containing TDZ + CM; the addition of 0.001 μM IAA to this combination doubled shoot development, from 1.9–3.9 shoots per explant. The transfer of bud clumps to media supplemented with 8.8 μM BA alone or in combination with either 0.14 μM GA3 or 0.001 μM IAA significantly increased shoot production from the previously induced explants by 1.5–2 times of that observed in TDZ + CM medium. Histological examinations revealed that shoot regeneration was primarily by organogenesis originating from cells on or just below the cut surfaces of explants.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Abbreviations

BA:

6-Benzylaminopurine

GA:

Gibberellic acid

IAA:

Indoleacetic acid

TDZ:

Thidiazuron

IBA:

Indolebutyric acid

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support received from the Australian Macadamia Society and Horticulture Australia Ltd. Thanks to Prof. Quinsheng Wu for critical comments on the manuscript and the Australian government for awarding R.M.S.M. an ADCOS scholarship to study at the University of Melbourne.

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Author notes

  1. Richard M. S. Mulwa

    Present address: Department of Horticulture, Egerton University, P.O. Box 536, Njoro, Kenya

Affiliations

  1. Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Land and Food Resources, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Legume Research, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia

    Richard M. S. Mulwa & Prem L. Bhalla

Authors
  1. Richard M. S. Mulwa
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  2. Prem L. Bhalla
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Prem L. Bhalla.

Additional information

Communicated by P. Lakshmanan

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Mulwa, R.M.S., Bhalla, P.L. In vitro plant regeneration from immature cotyledon explants of macadamia (Macadamia tetraphylla L. Johnson). Plant Cell Rep 25, 1281–1286 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-006-0182-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-006-0182-x

Keywords

  • Macadamia
  • Somatic embryogenesis
  • Organogenesis
  • Histology