Abstract
Franklinia is a monotypic genus of the family Theaceae that is now extinct in the wild. F. alatamaha Bartram ex Marshall has been maintained in cultivation for nearly 250-y because of the ornamental appeal of its flowers and foliage. The goal of this research was to develop an in vitro propagation system to increase the availability of this rare tree for commercial horticulture and restoration. Immature zygotic embryos were cultured on semi-solid Woody Plant Medium containing 34 different plant growth regulator treatments. Shoot organogenesis was induced from dark-grown explants with indole-3-butyric acid in combination with 6-benzylaminopurine. Shoot organogenesis was also obtained with thidiazuron, N-(2-Chloro-4-pyridyl)-N′-phenylurea, and indole-3-butyric acid in combination with meta-Topolin, although shoot development was abnormal. Adventitious buds were produced on the epidermal surfaces of immature zygotic embryos while exposed to the above plant growth regulator treatments. Once the adventitious buds elongated into shoots, these adventitious shoots were further multiplied by axillary shoot production. Elongated shoots from axillary shoot production were rooted on Woody Plant Medium supplemented with 0.25 g L−1 activated charcoal, but no plant growth regulators. The resulting plantlets were transferred to soil and acclimatized to the greenhouse and outdoor environments. Tissue culture-derived trees flowered within one and a half years in the greenhouse under an extended photoperiod.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akula A, Dodd W (1998) Direct somatic embryogenesis in a selected tea clone, TRI-2025'(Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) from nodal explants. Plant Cell Rep 17:804–809
Bartram’s Garden (Philadelphia, Pa., USA) (2019) The F. alatamaha Story. Retrieved from website: http://www.bartramsgarden.org/F.alatamaha/index.html
Beleski DG (2014) Micropropagation and somatic embryogenesis in F. alatamaha Bartram ex Marshall. University of Georgia MS thesis
Kato M (1996) Somatic embryogenesis from immature leaves of in vitro grown tea shoots. Plant Cell Rep 15:920–923
Koslow G, Peterson JL (1980) Phytophthora root and crown rot of Franklinia trees. J Arborculture 6:89–92
Lloyd G, McCown B (1980) Commercially feasible micropropagation of mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, by use of shoot tip culture. Proc Intern Plant Prop Soc 30:421–437
Merkle SA, Weicko B, Watson-Pauley BA (1991) Somatic embryogenesis in American chestnut. Can J For Res 21:1698–1701
Mondal T (2004) Recent advances of tea (Camellia sinensis) biotechnology. Plant Cell Tiss Org Cult 76:195–254
Murashige T, Skoog F (1962) A revised medium for rapid growth and bio assays with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol Plant 15:473–497
Pedroso M, Pais M (1993) Direct embryo formation in leaves of Camellia japonica L. Plant Cell Rep 12:639–643
Peterson JL, Orton E, Koslow G (1975) Wilt and dieback of Franklinia trees caused by Phytophthora spp. Proc Am Phytopath Soc 2:104 (Abstract)
Prince L, Parks C (2001) Phylogenetic relationships of Theaceae inferred from chloroplast DNA sequence data. Am J Bot 88:2309–2320
Tosca A (1996) Organogenesis in Camellia x williamsii: cytokinin requirement and susceptibility to antibiotics. Plant Cell Rep 15:541–544
Tosca A, Pandolfi R, Macchi A (1991) In vitro regeneration of Camellia hybr. cv. Debbie from leaf and stem explants, ISHS. pp 69–76
Xing Z, Satchwell MF, Powell WA et al (1997) Micropropagation of American chestnut: increasing rooting rate and preventing shoot-tip necrosis. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol-Plant 33:43–48
Yang SX, Yang JB (2004) Reassessing the relationships between Gordonia and Polyspora (Theaceae) based on the combined analyses of molecular data from the nuclear, plastid and mitochondrial genomes. Plant Syst Evol 248:45–55
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Joel Fry, curator of Bartram’s Garden for historical information on F. alatamaha and for immature fruit capsules of F. alatamaha.
Funding
This work received the financial support of Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia and from a Jeane Reeves Research Grant from the Georgia Native Plant Society.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Editor: Jessica Rupp
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gladfelter, H.J., Johnston, J., Wilde, H.D. et al. Adventitious shoot-based propagation of Franklinia alatamaha for commercial horticulture and restoration. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Plant 56, 857–864 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-020-10087-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-020-10087-8