News from the PBS Section
Valerie Pence, from the Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, and collaborators from four other institutions met in June 2010 to outplant 45 individuals of Ranunculus aestivalis, Autumn buttercup, that had been propagated in vitro at CREW. They were then transported to Utah where TAF, CREW, TNC, USFWS, and Utah State University staff and volunteers worked to plant them on the Preserve. The plants were from cultures initiated from seed collected on the one site where this plant still exists, the Sevier Valley Preserve in south central Utah, owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. A previous outplanting had been done in 2007 but only a few plants remained, as well as a few plants remaining of the native population. The plants were healthy and survived well for a few weeks. However, the plants were lost to predation later in the summer, presumably by vole. Future outplantings have been put on hold, but plants are still being produced at CREW and sent to Flagstaff to establish a protected, ex situ population there until conditions have improved in the wild. Having back-ups of the genetic lines in culture is one advantage of in vitro propagation!
Valerie Pence was also the recipient of the annual Star Award from the Center for Plant Conservation “in honor of her commitment to the conservation of the flora of the United States” in March, 2010, and The Garden Club of America Zone Conservation Commendation, in Oct. 2009.
Submitted by Valerie C. Pence
Barbara M. Reed, USDA-ARS, and Adam Z. Higgins, Oregon State University, are organizing the 2011 Society for Cryobiology Annual Meeting in Corvallis, Oregon from July 24-27, 2011. There will be keynote sessions on freeze drying and anhydrobiosis, best practices in biobanking, new developments in mathematical modeling, and cryobiology in assisted reproductive technologies. A special one day symposium, “Cryopreservation Storage Technology for Food and Agriculture”, will be part of this meeting and will include presentations on cryopreservation of plant, invertebrate and vertebrate germplasm. For more information go to http://www.cryo-2011.org/
Submitted by Barbara Reed
Michael Kane’s student, Xiuli Shen, has been working on a Dieffenbachia breeding program in the Department of Environmental Horticulture and Mid-Florida Research and Education Center at the University of Florida.
Dieffenbachia, a monocot of the family Araceae, is a popular ornamental foliage plants. Its popularity is attributed to its attractive, striking foliage. Breeding through hybridization in Dieffenbachia, is hindered by its naturally-occurring dichogamy, long breeding cycle, poor seed production, and low germination. It usually takes 7 to 10 years for new cultivar development. Selection of somaclonal variants from in vitro generated populations via indirect shoot organogenesis has been used to overcome the limitations of traditional breeding in Dieffenbachia. The goal is to develop new Dieffenbachia cultivars with novel leaf variegation patterns, leaf shapes, colors and bushy growth form. First, a protocol for regenerating Dieffenbachia ‘Camouflage’ through indirect shoot organogenesis from leaf explants was developed. The effect of genotypes, explant sources, and plant growth regulators on callus-mediated shoot organogenesis was examined and a more efficient protocol for new cultivar development through selection of somaclonal variation was produced*. Then, somaclonal variation among regenerants of Dieffenbachia ‘Camouflage’ and ‘Camille’ at the phenotypic level were assessed. Three types of somaclonal variants with either novel leaf variegation patterns, different leaf shapes, or plant forms have been identified. Our study indicates that selection of somaclonal variation is a viable method for new cultivar development in Dieffenbachia. *Xiuli Shen, Michael E. Kane and Jianjun Chen. Effects of Genotypes, Explant Source, and Plant Growth Regulators on Indirect Shoot Organogenesis in Dieffenbachia Cultivars. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology-Plant, 44:282-288, 2008
Submitted by Xiuli Shen
Vibha Srivastava has been developing modules for some interesting topics.
Some examples are: a workshop titled “From Field to Table: the Science behind Plants for Food and Fuel”. There are three modules in it. My module is given below. This module was given to 10 teachers from NW Arkansas schools. Each teacher gets a Kitchen Culture kit to carry out a plant tisue culture activity in the classroom. They are shown the tissue culture technique using rice embryos/ seeds, then a home-made video to show them the process of rice transformation. They will not be able to do transformation in their classrooms, so the emphasis will be on tissue culture. There are also modules developed for “detection of GMO” and “biofuel” that can be made available.
Module A. Plant Tissue Culture and Transformation
Plant tissue culture is the process of propagating and regenerating a mass of cells by placing excised plant tissues on artificial media. This process plays a central role in plant biotechnology, which is comprised of techniques for improving plant varieties such as breeding or genetic engineering. Most plant cells are distinct from their animal counterparts in having the potential to regenerate into the whole organism. When an excised plant tissue is placed on a defined artificial media, cell division is induced leading to the generation of a mass of cells. Theses masses of cells, when placed on another composition of artificial media, can differentiate into tissue, leading to the formation of a whole plant. This module will describe plant tissue culture and transformation, a process commonly used for developing GMO crops. First, teachers will develop an understanding of plant tissue culture and obtain practical training. Secondly, teachers will develop a plant tissue culture activity that they will be able to implement in their classrooms, using the supplies available in their ‘Teacher Kits’. Since the chemical components of these kits expire, the teachers will be sent their kit upon request. Thus, the teachers will be able to do a hands-on plant tissue culture activity with their students.
Submitted by Vibha Srivastava
The University of the West Indies, Jamaica hosted the First International Horticulture Conference (ActaHort) on November 22 to 26, 2010. The following in vitro papers were presented. Three of these papers represent the post-graduate work (two MPhil and one PhD of Dr. Sylvia Mitchell’s Medicinal Plant Research Group at the Biotechnology Centre, UWI who will be submitting their theses this year). Email sylvia.mitchell@uwimona.edu.jm for more details.
Sylvia A Mitchell and MH Ahmad Morphology, horticulture and biotechnology of root tonic non-timber forest species of Jamaica including the endemic plant, Chainy root (Smilax balbisiana), UWI, Jamaica.
SA Webster, SA Mitchell, M Roye and MH Ahmad Assessment of Genetic Stability in Repetitive Somatic Embryogenic Cultures of Cheese Ackee (Blighia sapida) Using ISSRs and RAPDs Markers, UWI, Jamaica.
TK Francis, SA Mitchell and MH Ahmad Micropropagation of a Jamaican Non-Timber Forest Species – Sarsaparilla (Smilax regeli), UWI, Jamaica.
R Jagnarine, SA Mitchell, M Roye, MH Ahmad (2010) Micropropagation and Genetic Analysis of a Jamaican Endemic Medicinal Plant: Piper amalago (var. nigrinodum), UWI, Jamaica.
S Krishnan Coffee biotechnology: implications for crop improvement and germplasm conservation, DBG, USA.
RP Maurva Callus induction and plantlet regeneration of rose (Rosa hybrida L.) through leaf explants, UWI, Barbados.
TW Zimmerman Tropical plant biotechnology in the US Virgin Islands, Virgin Islands University, USVI.
Submitted by Sylvia Mitchell
