Development of an efficient in vitro regeneration protocol for rapid multiplication and genetic improvement of an important endangered medicinal plant Psoralea corylifolia

Psoralea corylifolia linn. (Fabaceae) is an important herbaceous medicinal plant. The plant is well known for its different medicinal properties. Various parts of plant including roots and seeds are source of valuable alkaloids which have pharmaceutical importance. Three explants were compared to determine an efficient regeneration method for propagation of Psoralea corylifolia. Efficient and rapid in vitro seed germination has been established using B5 basal medium with 0.7% agar. Good regeneration was obtained from 5 day old cotyledone node explant as compared to hypocotyls and cotyledone. 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) at 2.5 μM was found optimal for multiple shoot induction. Kanamycin at concentration of 35 mg/L caused complete bleaching of the non-transformed shoots. This concentration was found optimal for the selection of green putative shoots transformed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) at 5.0 μM was found optimal for for induction of roots approximately in 80% of cultures. The transformation was observed directly GUS staining of the explants. Transient GUS activity was detected after co-cultivation with Agrobacterium tumifaciens (EHA 105) carrying binary vector pCAMBIA 2301 which contained uid A gene as scorable marker for GUS expression and npt II as selectable marker for kanamycin resistance. Transient GUS blue staining was observed in transformed explants while non-transformed did not revealed any staining. Present study will help to propagate the medicinal plant for industrial herbal extraction of valuable pharmaceutical substances to be used in different diseases. This study will also help to execute further research on regeneration, transformation and hairy root induction of this medicinal plant.

Author(s): Nirmala Sehrawat*, Mukesh Yadav and Pawan Kumar Jaiwal

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