Abstract
This study aims to establish an efficient protocol for development of seedlings of an endangered medicinally important forest tree Boswellia serrata Roxb., for mass plantation and consistent supply of salai guggul. The green mature fruits served as source of seeds. The excised green zygotic embryos were cultured on Gamborg (B5), McCown and Loyd (WPM) and Schenk and Hildebrandt (SH) media fortified with different concentration of sucrose and on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 3 % sucrose, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (0–300 mg l−l), Gibberellic acid (GA3), Indoleacetic acid (IAA), Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), Indole-3-Butyric acid (IBA) or 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4 D) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) or kinetin (Kin) individually. The highest frequency of embryo germination (96 %) and conversion into seedling was obtained on MS medium containing 3 % sucrose together with 200 mg l−l PVP; other media were either inferior or induced abnormalities in the seedlings including callus formation from the zygotic embryos. Fully developed seedlings could be successfully established in soil with about 94 % survival. The embryos from mature dry seeds did not respond for germination in any of the experiments. In conclusion, selection of zygotic embryo from green mature seeds and their in vitro germination is important for propagation of B. serrata.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdelwahd R, Hakam N, Labhilili M and Udupa SM (2008). Use of an adsorbent and antioxidants to reduce the effects of leached phenolic in in vitro plantlet regeneration of faba bean. African J. Biotechnol. 7(8): 997–1002.
Anonymous (1962). The wealth of India, A dictionary of Indian raw materials and Industrial products, SIR Publication, New Delhi India, pp 208–210.
Bhojwani SS and Razdan MK (1996). Plant Tissue Culture. Theory and Practice revised Edition, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 10–90.
Chang SH and Yang JC (1996). Enhancement of plant formation from embryo cultures of Taxus mairei using suitable culture media and PVP. Bot. Bull. Acad. 37: 35–40.
Chikamai BN (2002). Review and Synthesis on the State of Knowledge of Boswellia Species and Commercialization of Frankincense in Dry lands of Eastern Africa FAO/EU/FORNESSA AFREA (Forestry Research Network for Sub-Saharan Africa), Nairobia, Kenya.
Devlin RM and Witham FH (2000). Plant physiology CBS Publisher and Distributors, New Delhi India, pp. 481–498.
Duncan DB (1955). Multiple range and multiple F-test. Biometrics 11: 1–42.
Gamborg OL, Miller RA and Ojima K (1968). Nutrient requirements of suspension cultures of soybean root cells. Exp. Cell Res. 50: 151–158.
Gaofeng Y, Mark LW, Guoquing H, Min Y and Duo L (2006). Natural products and anti-inflammatory activity. Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 15(2): 143–152.
Kalita M and Sarma CM (2001). Selection of suitable medium for in vitro germination and protocorm formation of Acampe longifolia Lindi. Adv. Plant Sci. 14: 243–246.
Manrique JP, Fernandex-Lizarazo C and Suarez-Silva A (2005). Evaluation of the effect of three growth regulators in the germination of Comparetia falcate seeds under in vitro conditions. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. Plant. 41: 838–843.
McCown BH and Lloyd C (1981). Woody plant medium (WPM) a mineral nutrient formation for microculture for woody plant species. Hort. Sci. 16: 453.
Murashige T and Skoog FA (1962). A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol. Plant. 15: 473–497.
Nachlas MM, Margulies SI and Seligman AM (1960). Sites of electron transfer to tetrazolium salts in the succinoxodase system. J. Bio. Chem. 235: 2739–2743.
Nikam TD and Barmukh RB (2009). GA3 enhances in vitro seed germination in Santalum album. Seed Sci. Technol. 37: 276–280.
Purohit SD, Tak K and Kukda G (1995). In vitro propagation of Boswellia serrata Roxb. Biologia Plantarum. 37(3): 335–340.
Raghavan V (2003). One hundred years of zygotic embryo culture investigations. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. Plant. 39: 437–442.
Rambabu M, Upender M, Ujjwala D, Ugandhar T, Praveen M and Ramaswamy N (2006). In vitro Zygotic embryo culture of an endangered forest tree Givotia rottleriformis and factors affecting its germination and seedling growth. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. Plant. 42(5): 418–421.
Schenk RU and Hildebrandt AC (1972). Medium and Techniques for induction and growth of monocotyledons and dicotyledonous plant cell cultures. Plant Cell Rep. 6: 410–413.
Sharma S (1983). A census of rare and endemic flora of South-East Rajasthan. In: Jain, S.K., Rao, R.R. (ed.). Threatened Plants of India. Botanical Survey of India: Howrah, pp. 630–670.
Singh GB and Atal CK (1986). Pharmacology of an extract salai guggal ex- Boswellia serrata, a new non- steroidal anti-inflammatory agent. Agents actions. 18: 647–652.
Sunnichan VG, Mohan Ram HY and Shivanna KR (2005). Reproductive biology of Boswellia serrata, the source of an important gum- resin, salai guggul. Bot. J. Linnean Soc. 147: 73–82.
Taiz L and Zeiger E (2006). Plant physiology (fourth edition). Sinauer Associates Inc. Publishers, Sunderland, Massachusetts, pp. 222–250.
Yildirim H, Tilkat E, Onay A and Ozen HC (2007). In vitro Embryo Culture of Apricot, Prunus armeniaca L. CV. Int. J. Sci. Technol. 2(2): 99–104.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ghorpade, R.P., Chopra, A. & Nikam, T.D. In vitro zygotic embryo germination and propagation of an endangered Boswellia serrata Roxb., a source of boswellic acid. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 16, 159–165 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-010-0017-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-010-0017-7