In vitro propagation of the gum arabic tree (Acacia Senegal (L.) Willd.) 1. Developing a rapid method for producing plants

Plant Cell Rep. 1993 Sep;12(11):629-33. doi: 10.1007/BF00232813.

Abstract

The method described herein permitted production of three to four micropropagules of Acacia Senegal from one uninodal explant. The explants were taken from plants produced either in a sterile environment or during four years in a greenhouse. Zeatin or 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) were mixed, at different concentrations, with Murashige and Skoog's medium (MS) of which the amount of macroelements was divided in half (MS mod.). At a concentration of 5.0×10(-5) M, zeatin produced a better multiplication rate after 60 d for the two types of plant stock than did BAP. A two stage process was necessary to obtain a rooting rate of the small cuttings close to 100%. The first stage, called induction, consisted of leaving the cuttings for 6 to 12 d on a Jordan's medium (JN) of which the amount of macroelements was reduced by half (JN mod.) and in which NAA at a concentration of 5.0×10(-5) M was added. The second stage, called root extension, required that the small cuttings be planted on this second hormone-free medium. Roots appeared after a few days. Acclimatization in a greenhouse occured with a survival rate of close to 100% when the rooted in vitro plants were transplanted to pots containing a mixture of vermiculite and top soil (1∶1; v/v).