In vitro culture and biochemical and antioxidant potential of the critically endangered medicinal plant Atropa acuminata Royle ex Lindl of Kashmir Himalaya
In vitro micropropagation is now considered as a successful method of mass propagation of medicinal plants especially endangered medicinal plants. Micropropagation is affected by many factors such as explants type, culture medium composition, plant growth regulators (PGRs), selection of plant species as well as the cultural conditions. Micropropagation of medicinal plants is extensively used to produce active compounds for herbal and pharmaceutical industries. The application of plant cell and tissue culture for the production of phytochemicals in medicinal plants is assisting in providing a continuous supply of the desired components. In the present study we have developed a highly reliable and reproducible tissue culture protocol for Atropa acuminata which is an endangered medicinal plant of Kashmir Himalaya. We also evaluated and estimated the primary biochemical attributes and antioxidant activities of both in vitro raised and field grown plants of this valuable herb.
Shabeer Ahmad Dar, Irshad Ahmad Nawchoo, Sumira Tyub, and Azra Nahaid Kamili. In vitro culture and biochemical and antioxidant potential of the critically endangered medicinal plant Atropa acuminata Royle ex Lindl of Kashmir Himalaya. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology-Plant 58: 540–550, 2022.
A new economical storage technique for strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) in vitro
Michelle Paynter, Department of Agriculture & Fisheries (DAF) Queensland, Australia
Maintaining germplasm in tissue culture, or in vitro is important for strawberry breeding programs, as a back-up in case of losses of mother stock plants grown in pots, and for the storage of elite accessions and cultivars. For the micropropagation and in vitro storage of strawberry, a conventional MS media is typically used. Strawberry plants grown on MS media require subculturing onto fresh media every two to three months for optimal plant health and survival. This makes it an expensive and time-consuming exercise. Additionally, short intervals between subculturing increases the chance of somaclonal variation, as well as the chance of contamination due to operator error. Alternatively, we have developed a protocol for storing strawberry plants in vitro using commercially available sterilised peat pellets. Our results have shown that strawberry plants can be grown and stored under in vitro conditions without sub-culturing for up to three years or more. This equates to an 8-fold more efficient technique, significantly decreasing the costs of storing and maintaining plants in vitro. Applied to crops like strawberry this system would be beneficial for the storage of germplasm collections, limiting the number of transfers, reducing the chance of contamination, the requirement to re-initiate into culture, and most importantly decreasing the chance of somaclonal variation.
Michelle Paynter. A new economical storage technique for strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) in vitro. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology-Plant, 58:630-635, 2022.
A database of crop pest cell lines
We have developed an online database describing the known cell lines from Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera that were developed from agricultural pests. Cell line information has been primarily obtained from previous compilations of insect cell lines. We conducted in-depth Internet literature searches and drew on Internet sources such as the Cellosaurus database (https://web.expasy.org/cellosaurus/), and inventories from cell line depositories. Here, we report on a new database of insect cell lines, which covers 719 cell lines from 86 species. We have not included cell lines developed from Drosophila because they are already known from published databases, such as https://dgrc.bio.indiana.edu/cells/Catalog. We provide the designation, tissue and species of origin, cell line developer, unique characteristics, its use in various applications, publications, and patents, and, when known, insect virus susceptibility. This information has been assembled and organized into a searchable database available at the link https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/aginsectcellsdatabase which will be updated on an ongoing basis.
Surjeet Kumar Arya, Cynthia L. Goodman, David Stanley, and Subba Reddy Palli. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology-Animal. 58:719-757, 2022.
