High-frequency Plant Regeneration from Cultured Flower Bud Receptacles of Allium hookeri L

Allium hookeri L. (Alliaceae family) is an important ethnomedicinal plant native to the Himalayan region of Asia. Theaim of this research was to establish a high-frequency plant regeneration system for in vitro propagation of A. hookeri. Amongthe tissue types examined, receptacle explants derived from immature flower buds showed the highest regeneration rate ofshoots (93.33 ± 4.63%), roots (76.67 ± 7.85%), and calli (80.00 ± 7.43%) when cultured on Gamborg B5 (B5) medium containing10 μM 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) + 1 μM naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), 0.5 μM BA + 5 μM NAA, and 1 μM BA + 10 μMNAA, respectively. Shoot multiplication was superior when cultured in liquid rather than on solid medium and relatively highconcentrations of BA, ranging from 5 to 10 μM. Efficient bulblet formation following root induction from shoot clumps wasachieved with culture in liquid B5 medium containing 7% (w/v) sucrose. Regenerated bulblets were successfully acclimatizedto ex vitro conditions with a greater than 95% survival rate. By this method, a maximum of 62 plantlets per receptacle couldbe propagated within 9 weeks of initial culture. The in vitro propagation system established in this study will promote A. hookeribiotechnology, including large-scale production of healthy and aseptic clones, preserving parental genotypes with desirable traits,and genetic manipulation to enhance medicinal value. KCI Citation Count: 0