Efficient and rapid in vitro plant regeneration system for Indian cultivars of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Chakraborti, D.; Sarkar, A.; Das, S.

Efficient and rapid in vitro plant regeneration system for Indian cultivars of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

2006

Chakraborti, D. | Sarkar, A. | Das, S.

Lacking of an efficient regeneration protocol for the recalcitrant crop chickpea is a limiting factor for adapting genetic engineering approaches for its improvement. The present study describes a rapid and efficient method for multiple shoot regeneration for three Indian cultivars, B115, C235, ICCV89314, using single cotyledons with half embryos as explant. Modified MS medium with 1.5 mg l-1 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 0.04 mg l-1 α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) induced a maximum of 26 shoots from a single explant after 20 days of culture. When cultured in modified MS medium containing 0.2 mg l-1 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 80% of the shoots from each regenerating explant elongated in another 20-25 days. Following a root-grafting protocol, 90-95% of the elongated shoots survived in soil which subsequently produced seeds. The regeneration process from explant preparation to complete plants took 55-60 days. The presently optimized rapid regeneration method holds promise for facilitating the deployment of agronomically important components through genetic transformation for betterment of this important food crop.

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