Organogenesis and embryogenesis from callus cultures of Azadirachta excelsa

ABSTRACT

Callus production from leaf explants of Azadirachta excelsa (Jack) Jacobs was favoured by Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 4 mg l^-1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 1 mg l^-1 6-benzyladenine (BAP). Increasing the concentration of BAP to 2 mg l^-1 induced shoot regeneration. Adding polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to the medium resulted in a significantly increased number of shoots. Transfer onto medium containing 0.5 mg l^-1 BAP, 0.4 mg l^-1 gibberellic acid (GA₃) and 2% sucrose stimulated elongation of the internodes; subsequent transfer onto medium containing 1 mg l^-1 IBA induced root formation. The histological analysis demonstrated that organogenesis and embryogenesis occurred in the same callus. However, shoots originated inside the callus mass, whereas the embryos originated on the surface. Given that the embryos did not develop beyond the globular or heart-shaped stage, we concluded that the plants regenerated from callus were derived only from organogenesis.

KEY WORDS:

• Azadirachta excelsa
• in vitro culture
• organogenesis
• somatic embryogenesis