Aeschynanthus pulcher (Blume) G. Don, the "lipstick plant" is a prized ornamental plant with distinctive flowers. Here, we introduce a novel in vitro regeneration method for A. pulcher using leaf explants and an optimized combination of phytohormone plant growth regulators (PGRs). The optimal conditions for shoot regeneration included 1 mg L-1 polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) plus 3 mg L-1 thidiazuron (TDZ), inducing a response rate of 82.4% and a shoot/explant ratio of 38.6. When the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium contained indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) alone, leaves first differentiated into adventitious roots and then adventitious shoots. Leaves cultured on MS medium containing 1 g L-1 PVP, 3 mg L-1 TDZ, 5 mg L-1 casein, and 0.1 mg L-1 α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) for 30 d exhibited the highest embryogenic callus (EC) induction rate (95.6%). The optimal shoot proliferation coefficient (21.5) was obtained when shoots derived from EC were cultured on the same medium as that used for EC induction for 5 weeks. The most effective medium for rooting of elongated shoots was MS medium containing 1 g L-1 PVP, 5 mg L-1 casein, 3 mg L-1 6-benzyladenine (BA), and 0.1 mg L-1 NAA, and the number of roots reached 18.8. The regenerated plants grown in a greenhouse had 100% survival following one week of hardening. Overall, our effective and efficient propagation method should result in shortened culture periods and reduced production costs, allowing for the future selective breeding and genetic improvement of A. pulcher.
Keywords: Aeschynanthus pulcher (Blume) G. Don; embryogenic callus; leaf explant; propagation; shoot regeneration.