Somatic embryogenesis in <em>Carica papaya</em> L. var. Maradol rojo

Abstract

The most important papaya variety in Cuba is Red Maradol. However, it is susceptible to the main viral diseases that attack this crop. For this reason, it is necessary to establish a method for plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis as the base to develop a protocol for genetic transformation to obtain resistant plants. The objective of this work was to obtain somatic embryos of papaya Red Maradol starting from zygotic embryos. The effect of different factors in somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration, starting from immature zygotic embryos, was evaluated. The somatic embryos were obtained in a culture medium MS with 5 mg.l-1 2,4-D. Also, the use of 2 mg.l-1 of this plant growth regulator had a positive effect in the secondary multiplication of somatic embryos. The addition of 5 mg.l-1 AIB favored the buds rooting (78.0%), but its longitude was inferior to 1.85 cm. The culture of buds in liquid elongation medium allowed them to reach an average longitude of 3.05 cm and 4.50 leaves, which permitted its appropriate survival in the acclimatization phase. Key words: acclimatization, papaya, secondary multiplication, zygotic embryos