A Comparison of Semi-Solid, Liquid, and Temporary Immersion Bioreactor Systems for Effective Plant Regeneration of <i>Gerbera jamesonii</i> “Shy Pink”

Abstract

Temporary immersion system (TIS) cultures are reported to be superior when compared to semi-solid (SS) and liquid (LQ) cultures for the in vitro plant regeneration of many plant species. In the present study, we used a TIS for plant regeneration of Gerbera jemesonii “Shy Pink” and compared the results with that of SS and LQ cultures. The number of shoots regenerated in the SS, LQ, and TIS cultures was 6.93, 3.13, and 3.03, respectively. The shoots regenerated with the SS and LQ cultures demonstrated 3.33 and 4.22% hyperhydricity, whereas the shoots regenerated with the TIS were healthy even though the number of shoots regenerated was less. The plantlets regenerated with the TIS demonstrated higher values for the number of roots, root length, biomass of the plantlets, leaf length/width, and area compared to the SS and LQ cultures. When the G. jemesonii “Shy Pink” plants were regenerated using the TIS, their levels of photosynthetic pigments were highest. The number of stomata on the abaxial surface of their leaves was 11.40, and the frequency of closed stomata was 59% for the plants regenerated with the TIS. The number of stomata was 21.4 and 14.5 for the plants regenerated with the SS and LQ cultures, respectively. Meanwhile, the frequency of closed stomata was 13% and 15% for the plants regenerated with SS and LQ cultures. Furthermore, G. jemesonii “Shy Pink” showed the highest survival of plants when regenerated in the TIS compared to SS and LQ cultures. The TIS was found to be the most suitable culture system for plant regeneration of G. jemesonii “Shy Pink” compared to SS and LQ cultures.

Keywords

• acclimatization
• hyperhydricity
• in vitro regeneration
• liquid cultures
• stomatal index