High-frequency regeneration of plants in vitro from seedling-derived apical bud explants of Tilia mandshurica Rupr. & Maxim

This work describe an efficient method for the shoot induction and plant regeneration of seedling-derived apical bud explants of Tilia mandshurica Rupr. & Maxim. The highest rate of shoot induction (82.2%) was obtained when apical bud explants from juvenile seedlings (5 months old) were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 1.0 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). However, apical bud explants obtained from mature trees (12 years old) did not produce any shoots, even with BAP supplementation. Among the three cytokinins tested for shoot multiplication (BAP, zeatin, and kinetin), BAP was the most effective; the highest number of shoots per explant (2.1) was observed on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L BAP. In contrast, the longest average shoot length (3.0 cm) was observed after growth on MS medium with 2.0 mg/L zeatin. No multiplication occurred when apical bud explants were cultured with kinetin-supplemented media. During rooting of in vitro-elongated shoots, the highest rooting rate (100%) was observed in half-strength MS medium supplemented with 0.5 ~ 1.0 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or 3.0 mg/L 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). During the acclimatization process, plantlets that were rooted on the IBA (0.5 mg/L)- supplemented medium had the highest survival rate (100%) and maximum root length (18.5 cm). These findings suggest that a low concentration (0.5 mg/L) of IBA is appropriate for the rooting and acclimatization of T. mandshurica. Plants were successfully transferred to the greenhouse with a 100% survival rate. This protocol will be useful for the large-scale propagation of Tilia species.