Abstract
Swertia chirata is an endangered Gentian species used as herbal medicine for various health ailments including liver disorders, malaria, and diabetes. The depletion of S. chirata from the wild for such applications is a concern. Slow rates of propagation because of poor seed germination and low seed viability are presently limiting factors for its large-scale commercial cultivation. For commercial plantation and conservation of existing germplasm, in vitro multiplication is an attractive solution. The present investigation has achieved production of genetically uniform plants from the nodal explants. Shoot regeneration was obtained in shoot-inducing medium containing half-strength Murashige and Skoog’s basal medium supplemented with 0.44 μM 6-benzylaminopurine and 4.65 μM 6-furfurylaminopurine. The highest number of shoots, at 18 per explant, regenerated when media was further fortified with 10 mM KNO3 and 75 mg l−1 of casein hydrolysate. Tissue culture regenerated plantlets were successfully transferred to the field and produced viable seeds. Studies of chromosome number and a comparative analysis of the DNA fingerprinting profiles indicate genetic stability of the regenerated plants.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahuja, A.; Koul, S.; Koul, B.L.; Verma, N. K.; Kaul, M. K.; Raina, R. K.; Qazi, G. N. Media composition for faster propagation of Swertia chirayita. WO 03/045132 AL; 2003
Al-Zahim, A. M.; Ford-Lloyd, B. V.; Newbury, H. J. Detection of somaclonal variation in garlic (Allium sativum L.) using RAPD and cytological analysis. Plant Cell. Rep. 18: 473–477; 1999
Anonymous. Biodiversity Conservation Prioritization Project Conservation Assessment and Management Plant (CAMP) for Endemic Medicinal Plants In India. CIMAP, Lucknow, India; 1997
Arditti, J. Clonal propagation of orchids by means of tissue culture—a manual. In: Arditti J., ed. Orchid Biology—Reviews and Perspectives. Cornell Univ. Press, USA, 1977: 203–293
Bohanec, B.; Jakse, M.; Ihan, A.; Javornik, B. Studies of gynogenesis in onion. Plant Sci. 104: 215–224; 1995
Brahmachari, G.; Mandal, S.; Gangopadhyay, A.; Gorai, D.; Mukhopadhyay, B.; Saha, S.; Brahmachari, A,K. Swertia (Gentianaceae): Chemical and pharmacological aspects. Chemistry and Biodiversity 1:1627–1651; 2004
Das, M.; Pal, A. Clonal propagation and production of genetically uniform regenerants from axillary meristems of adult bamboo. J. Plant Biochem. Biotechnol. 14:185–188; 2005
Isabel, N.; Tremblay, L.; Michaud, M.; Tremblay, F, M.; Bousquet, J. RAPDs as an aid to evaluate the genetic integtrity of somatic-embryogenesis derived populations of Picea mariana (Mill). Theor. Appl. Genet. 86: 81–87; 1993
Jensen, S.R.; Schripsema, J. Chemotaxonomy and pharmacology of Gentianaceae. In: Struwe, L.; Albert, V, A, eds. Gentianaceae—Systematics and Natural History, vol V Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002: 574–631
Jha, T.B.; Sen, S.K.; Micropropagation of an elite Darjeeling tea clone. Plant Cell. Rep. 11: 101–104; 1992
Joshi, P.; Dhawan, V.; Swertia chirayita—an overview. Curr. Sci. 89: 635–640; 2005
Lattoo, S, K.; Bamotra, S.; Saprudhar, R.; Khan, S.; Dhar, A. K. Rapid plant regeneration and analysis of genetic fidelity of in vitro derived plants of Chlorophytum arundinaceum Baker—an endangered medicinal herb. Plant Cell. Rep. 25: 499–506; 2006
Lee, E,CM.; de Fossard, R A.; Some factors affecting multiple bud formation of strawberry (X Fragaria ananassa Duchesne). In vitro Acta. Hort. 78: 187–195; 1977
Miura, H. Swertia spp. In vitro culture, regeneration and the production of secondary metabolites. In: Bajaj Y. P. S. ed. Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry. Medicinal and aromatic plants III, vol 15 Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, 1991: 451–463
Murashige, T.; Skoog, F.; A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue culture. Physiol. Plant. 15: 473–479; 1962
Pierik, R. L. M. Commercial aspects of micropropagation. In: Prakash, J.; Pierik, R, L, M, eds. Horticulture—New Technologies and Applications, Kluwer Acad Publisher Dordrecht, the Netherlands, 1991: 141–153
Ramage, C. M.; Richard, R. W.; Mineral nutrition and plant morphogenesis. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol.-Plant 38:116–124; 2002
Rani, V.; Raina, S. N. Genetic fidelity of organized meristem-derived micropropagated plants: A critical appraisal. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol.-Plant 36: 319–330; 2000
Rogers, S. O.; Bendich, A. J. Extraction of DNA from milligram amounts of fresh herbarium and mummified plant tissues. Plant Mol. Bio. Reptr. 11: 333–337; 1985
StatSoft INC. Statistica for Windows (Computer program manual). Statsoft Inc, Tulsa, OK; 1995
Wawrosch, C.; Maskay, N.; Kopp, B. Micropropagation of the threatened Nepalese medicinal plant Swertia chirayita Buch.-Ham. ex. Wall. Plant Cell. Rep. 18: 997–1001; 1999
Wirtzens, B.; Scowcroft, W. R.; Downes, R. W.; Larkin, P. J. Tissue culture and plant regeneration from sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and interspecific hybrids (H. tuberosus x H. annuus). Plant Cell. Tiss. Organ Cult. 13: 61–76; 1988
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the financial support of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, New Delhi, India (Sanction no. 38/(1068)/EMR-II) and Forest Department, Government of West Bengal. The authors are thankful to the Director of Bose Institute (BI) for permitting RKC to perform the DNA fingerprinting work at BI.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chaudhuri, R.K., Pal, A. & Jha, T.B. Production of genetically uniform plants from nodal explants of Swertia chirata Buch.-Ham. ex Wall.—an endangered medicinal herb. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Plant 43, 467–472 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-007-9095-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-007-9095-9