Polyploid Induction and Karyotype Analysis of <i>Dendrobium officinale</i>

<i>Dendrobium officinale</i> Kimura et Migo is an orchid with both medicinal and edible values and a high economic value. The wild resources of <i>D. officinale</i> are in an endangered state. Compared with the wild <i>D. officinale</i>, cultivated <i>D. officinale</i> exhibits inferior quality and a low content of medicinal components. Polyploid induction is a conventional breeding tool for genome doubling of species, which can effectively increase the total amount of plant components to improve the medicinal efficacy of <i>D. officinale</i>. In this study, <i>D. officinale</i> tetraploids were generated by treating the protocorms with colchicine. Morphological observations showed that tetraploids exhibited decreased plant size and leaf shape index and increased stem diameter. Cytological observations showed that the polyploid plants had larger stomata and a lower number of stomata per unit area compared with normal plants. The highest stomata variation of 30.00% was observed when the plant was treated with 0.3% colchicine for 24 h. Chromosomal observations showed that treatment of plants with 0.2% colchicine for 48 h resulted in the highest tetraploid induction rate of 10.00%. A total of 10 tetraploids were successfully obtained by inducing plant protoplasts with colchicine. The number of diploid <i>D. officinale</i> chromosomes was 38 with a base number of 19, and the karyotype formula was 2n = 2x = 38 = 24m + 14sm with a karyotype asymmetry coefficient of 60.59%, belonging to type 2B. The number of tetraploid <i>D. officinale</i> chromosomes was 76 with a base number of 19, and the karyotype formula was 2n = 4x = 76 = 58m + 18sm with a karyotype asymmetry coefficient of 60.04%, belonging to type 2B. This study determined the optimal mutagenesis treatment based on the chromosome observation results, investigated the relationship between the phenotype and ploidy level, and generated the polyploid germplasm of <i>D. officinale</i>, thereby laying the foundation for the breeding of new <i>D. officinale</i> cultivars enriched with compounds of medicinal value.