This work was aimed at establishing an effective approach for in vitro propagation of Ajuga lupulina Maxim, a medicinal and ornamental plant mainly found in eastern Xizang, in the western Sichuan region of China. We report an optimum response in the proliferation of axillary shoots from nodal segment explants (10.2 shoots/explant) on MS medium containing 3.0 mg L-1 of 6-benzyladenine (BA). When BA and TDZ individually or in combination with NAA were employed for adventitious shoot regeneration, shoots and embryo-like structures (ELSs) were noted in the callus from leaf explants. The maximum response of 26.4 shoots /explant (81.6%) and 12.0 ELSs/explant were ascertained on MS medium with 4.0 mg L-1 TDZ and 0.1 mg L-1 NAA. The leaf despite browning still demonstrated a high regeneration capacity. TDZ (2.0 mg L-1) and BA (2.0 mg L-1) along with NAA (0.01 mg L-1) were found to perform well for shoot regeneration via callus from shoot tip explants. The best for rooting was MS medium (half-strength) containing indole-3-butyric acid (IBA: 1.5 mg L-1) and (NAA: 0.5 mg L-1) with the maximum number of roots (25.8 per shoot) and the highest rooting frequency (81.71%). The survival of the plantlets in the greenhouse was 78.2% indicative of successful acclimatization. This work is the first report of a consistent, definitive, and unique protocol for A. lupulina regeneration, paving the way for the in vitro preservation of such significant genetic resources and also further allied systems based on such callus-based or embryo-based approaches.
Keywords: Ajuga lupulina; embryo-like structures (ELSs); leaf; organogenesis.