Plantlet regeneration through indirect shoot organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis in Justicia gendarussa Burm. f., a medicinal plant

A protocol for the regeneration of a large number of plantlets via indirect shoot organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis has been developed from the stem and leaf explants of Justicia gendarussa Burm. f. The callus was efficiently induced from the explants using Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with α-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) + Benzyl amino purine (BAP) (1.0 + 0.1 mg/l). The highest number of plantlets through indirect shoot organogenesis was obtained when the callus was subcultured to MS medium with BAP + NAA (0.1 + 1.0 mg/l). The maximum number of plantlets via somatic embryos was obtained in the medium with BAP + NAA (1.0 + 0.1 mg/l) for stem derived calli and Kinetin (Kn) + NAA (2.0 + 0.1 mg/l) for leaf derived calli. The in vitro developed shoots were rooted well in half strength MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l of Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The in vitro regenerated plantlets were hardened using a mixture of sterile sand:soil:manure (1:1:1). The present study is the first report on the regeneration of plants through somatic embryogenesis from stem and leaf derived calli of J. gendarussa.