Somatic embryogenesis and evaluation of genetic fidelity in Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson

ABSTRACTAmorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson (elephant foot yam) is a well-known vegetable tuber plant that belongs to medicinally important family Araceae. The present study reports on establishment of somatic embryogenesis using shoot apices as explants and assessment of genetic fidelity of regenerated plants using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Highest somatic embryo formation (100%) was obtained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) (13.31 µM) and 3% sucrose, whereas lowest percentage of somatic embryos was recorded on medium supplemented with different concentrations of indole-3-acetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-d). Mature somatic embryos germinated readily on MS basal medium supplemented with coconut water (15%) and BAP (4.43 µM) and developed into normal plantlets after 4 weeks under dark conditions. Well-rooted plants were successfully acclimatized on half-strength MS medium; survival rate was 85%. The assessme...