In Vitro Propagation and Artificial Seed Production of Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don, an Endangered Medicinal Plant

Fritillaria cirrhosa D.Don(Liliaceae)is an endangered perennial bulbous plant and its dry bulb is a valuable med-icinal material with antitussive and expectorant effects.Nevertheless,lack of resources and expensive prices make it difficult to meet clinical needs.This study presents a regeneration system aimed at overcoming the challenge of inadequate supply in F.cirrhosa,focusing on:(1)callus induction,(2)bulblets and adventitious bud induction,and(3)artificial seed production.Callus development was achieved in 84.93%on Murashige and Skoog(MS)medium fortified with 1.0 mg·L^(-1) picloram.The optimal medium for callus differentiation into regenerated bulb-lets was MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg·L^(-1)6-benzyladenine(6-BA)and 0.2 mg·L^(-1)α-naphthaleneacetic acid(NAA).Subsequently,bulblets and adventitious buds were induced from regenerated bulblet sections cul-tured on MS medium fortified with 0.3 mg·L^(-1)6-BA+1.0 mg·L^(-1)2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid(2,4-D),2.0 mg·L^(-1)6-BA+0.5 mg·L^(-1),and the induction rates were 88.17%and 84.24%,respectively.The regenerated bulblets were transplanted into a substrate of humus soil,river sand,and pearlite(1:1:1)after low-temperature treatment.The germination rate was 42.80%after culture for 30 days.Regenerated bulblets were used for encap-sulations in liquid MS medium containing 3%sucrose(w/v)+0.5 mg·L^(-1) NAA+2.0 mg·L^(-1)6-BA+3%sodium alginate(w/v)with a 10 min exposure to 2%CaCl_(2).Under non-aseptic conditions,the germination rate reached 81.67%,while the rooting rate was 20.56%after 45 days.The capsule added 1.0 g·L^(-1) carbendazim and 1.0 g·L^(-1) activated carbon was the best component of artificial seeds.This study successfully established an efficient regen-eration system for the rapid propagation of F.cirrhosa,involving in vitro bulblet regeneration and artificial seed production.This method introduces a novel approach for efficient breeding and germplasm preservation,making it suitable for large-scale industrial resource production.

Seed Germination Traits of Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) as Affected by Various Pre-Sowing Treatments (Cutting of Cotyledons, Removal of Perisperm, Moist Chilling and/or Exogenous Application of Gibberellin)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of various presowing treatments on the germinability(final germination percentage)and germination rate of loquat seeds in order to increase seedling production in nurseries(applied research)as well as provide answers for important physiological issues related to loquat seeds and their seed coat(basic research).Three experiments were carried out with various pre-sowing treatments.These treatments included full or partial removal of seed coat(perisperm),partial cutting of cotyledons as well as moist chilling at 5℃ for 13 days and/or soaking the seeds in water or 250 ppm gibberellic acid(GA_(3))solution for 24 h.According to the results,cotyledons excision resulted in delayed germination,regardless of the presence or absence of the seed coat in comparison with the decoated seeds that demonstrated the highest germination rate amongst them.In addition,even the partial excision of seed coats affected positively both the germinability and the germination rate,compared to the control-intact seeds.Furthermore,control-intact seeds had a higher germination percentage when exposed to moist chilling independently of the application or not of gibberellin;while the combination of gibberellin application and moist chilling improved both the percentage and the rate of germination of decoated seeds.In conclusion,the role of perisperm(seed coat)in the germination procedure of loquat seeds seems to be important,indicating the existence of seed coat-imposed dormancy on loquat seeds.Finally,the existence of a mild endogenous embryo-dormancy on loquat is also discussed.

Three Dimensional Optimum Node Localization in Dynamic Wireless Sensor Networks

Location information plays an important role in most of the applications in Wireless Sensor Network(WSN).Recently,many localization techniques have been proposed,while most of these deals with two Dimensional applications.Whereas,in Three Dimensional applications the task is complex and there are large variations in the altitude levels.In these 3D environments,the sensors are placed in mountains for tracking and deployed in air for monitoring pollution level.For such applications,2D localization models are not reliable.Due to this,the design of 3D localization systems in WSNs faces new challenges.In this paper,in order to find unknown nodes in Three-Dimensional environment,only single anchor node is used.In the simulation-based environment,the nodes with unknown locations are moving at middle&lower layers whereas the top layer is equipped with single anchor node.A novel soft computing technique namely Adaptive Plant Propagation Algorithm(APPA)is introduced to obtain the optimized locations of these mobile nodes.Thesemobile target nodes are heterogeneous and deployed in an anisotropic environment having an Irregularity(Degree of Irregularity(DOI))value set to 0.01.The simulation results present that proposed APPAalgorithm outperforms as tested among other meta-heuristic optimization techniques in terms of localization error,computational time,and the located sensor nodes.

Effect of Eugenia winzerlingii Extracts on Bemisia tabaci and Evaluation of Its Nursery Propagation

The development of plant-derived products to control Bemisia tabaci Genn.(Hemiptera:Aleyrodidae)is an urgent need for production of horticultural crops.Plant extracts and essential oils of several species of the genus Eugenia(Myrtaceae)have shown insecticidal activity.In southern Mexico,leaf extracts from Eugenia winzerlingii showed nematicidal effect but its insecticidal properties have not been explored.Therefore,the objective of this study was to evaluate the insecticidal effect of aqueous and organic extracts from E.winzerlingii leaves on B.tabaci egg,nymph and adult stages,and else to explore its nursery propagation.Then,extracts of this species were obtained by maceration with different polarity solvents.Bioassays were carried out on Capsicum chinense leaves.Mortality assays showed that aqueous and total crude ethanol(TCE)extracts necrosed the eggs(LC50=0.21%w/v and 4.68 mg/mL,respectively),whereas hexane,ethyl acetate(ETA),residual ethanol and TCE extracts affected the nymphs(LC50=0.25-4.85 mg/mL).In adults,oviposition inhibition by free choice assay indicated that TCE and ETA extracts had major activity(EC50=14.62 and 27.86μg/cm2,respectively).On other hand,the sexual and vegetative propagation of E.winzerlingii showed that this species can be easily cultivated by seeds.In conclusion,extracts of E.winzerlingii leaves are highly effective in controlling B.tabaci.TCE extract,in particular,was toxic to three stages of B.tabaci.This plant could be a potential alternative to develop a novel botanical insecticide to manage this destructive pest.

Concentrations of Silver Nitrate in the In Vitro Development and Conservation of Passiflora gibertii N.E.Brown

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of silver nitrate in the in vitro development and conservation of passion fruit plants. Experiments were carried out at the Laboratory of Culture and Tissues, in the National Cassava and Fruits Research Center (EMBRAPA), using microcuttings of Passiflora gibertii N. E. Br., previously cultivated in vitro. The microcuttings were placed in MS media supplemented with silver nitrate at concentrations of 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8 mg·L-1, and, during 30, 60 and 90 days, the following variables were identified: Shooting length (cm), number of roots, number and coloration of leaves. A completely randomized design with 30 replications in a split-plot scheme was employed. Polynomial regression equations were adjusted in analysis of variance to compare averages of treatments. The obtained results support the assumption of high sensitivity of passion fruit tissues to ethylene, which reflects in the lost of vigor and in the induction of culture senescence by its accumulation. Based on obtained results, and in order to mitigate this problem, it is possible to indicate an addition of 2 mg·L-1?of silver nitrate in culture media, for the micropropagation of passion fruit plant, allowing the controlling of the atmosphere inside the culture test tubes, during the establishment of explants and other steps of the process.

Synergic Effect of Mucuna pruriens var.Utilis(Fabaceae)and Pontoscolex corethrurus(Oligochaeta,Glossoscolecidae)on the Growth of Quercus insignis(Fagaceae)Seedlings,a Native Species of the Mexican Cloud Forest

Propagation of native species in local nurseries is an important activity in reforestation and forest restoration programs. A requisite for successful plantation is that nursery produced plants are of a size and quality that allows optimal establishment under field conditions. Manipulation of edaphic processes through the combined use of the earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus, Mucuna pruriens and inorganic fertilizers may promote faster biomass gain. This study assessed the activity of P. corethrurus, its association with M. pruriens (green manure) and inorganic fertilizers, on the growth of Quercus insignis seedlings under greenhouse conditions. Measured variables were basal diameter, height, biomass and foliar nitrogen content. Growth rates of basal diameter (F = 5.33;P F = 2.84;P P. corethrurus-M. pruriens-inorganic fertilizer, relative to the control. Also, leaf biomass and total biomass of the seedlings were greater in the treatment of P. corethrurus-fertilizer (F = 2.32;P F = 3.71;P Foliar nitrogen content <span style="font-family:Verdana;

Bioreactor technology for clonal propagation of plants and metabolite production

Plant cell culture in bioreactors is an enabling tool for large scale production of clonal elite plants in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, pharmaceutical sectors, and for biofuel production. Advantages of bioreactors for plant cell culture have resulted in various types of bioreactors differing in design, operating technologies, instrumentations, and construction of culture vessels. In this review, different types of bioreactors for clonal propagation of plants and secondary metabolites production are discussed. Mechanical and biochemical parameters associated with bioreactor design, such as aeration, flow rate, mixing, dissolved oxygen, composition of built-up gas in the headspace, and pH of the medium, are pivotal for cell morphology, growth, and development of cells within tissues, embryos, and organs. The differences in such parameters for different bioreactor designs are described here, and correlated to the plant materials that have been successfully cultured in different types of bioreactors.