Genome engineering experiments are impeded by poor performance of regeneration systems. The present study was aimed at establishing a short and cost-effective in vitro regeneration system for elite sugarcane cultivars through simultaneous shoot/root induction. | Turkish Journal of Biology Turk J Biol (2013) 37: 726-732 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Improving in vitro leaf disk regeneration system of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) with concurrent shoot/root induction from somatic embryos 1, 2 3 2 2 Muhammad NAWAZ *, Ihsan ULLAH , Naeem IQBAL , Muhammad Zafar IQBAL , Muhammad Aslam JAVED 1 Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan 2 Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan 3 Department of Botany, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan Received: Accepted: Published Online: Printed: Abstract: Genome engineering experiments are impeded by poor performance of regeneration systems. The present study was aimed at establishing a short and cost-effective in vitro regeneration system for elite sugarcane cultivars through simultaneous shoot/root induction. The innermost spindle leaf and shoot tip were used as explants. For callus induction, Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was used and mg/L of 2,4-D supported maximum callus induction (). Three-week-old calli were treated with different levels of benzylaminopurine (BAP) ranging from to mg/L in MS medium, where mg/L BAP was proven to be the best level for regeneration. In a multiplication and root formation medium, mg/L naphthalene acetic acid supported the maximum number of roots per plant. Finally, a direct somatic embryogenesis protocol was established, competent enough for simultaneous root/shoot induction. The results indicated that the plantlets were established within 12 weeks only. This in vitro regeneration protocol was fast and cost-effective and may be used for large-scale in vitro regeneration of sugarcane cultivars to save time and resources. The sugarcane cultivar SPF-234 .
