Objectives of this research were to test the effects of plant genotypes and auxin 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) medium concentrations on embryogenic (E) callus production of two grass species. Two Old World bluestem, Bothriochloa ischaemum, accessions (A-8793 and A-8911c) and three bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., accessions (A-10978b, A12164, and 'Brazos') supplied the explant material. Immature inflorescences ~< 9 mm in length were placed on modified Murashige-Skoog (MS) agar medium containing 0, 1, 3, or 5 mg L -~ of 2,4-D. Explants of all genotypes produced callus by the end of a 4-week dark incubation period at 25 °C. When subcultured onto fresh media and maintained at 25 °C with a 16 hr photoperiod, calli became embryogenic within 8 weeks of inoculation. Three mg L-~ of 2,4-D in the media maximized E callus production in both bluestem genotypes and in A-10978b and A-12164 bermudagrass genotypes. Maximum E callus production from Brazos bermudagrass resulted from the 1 mg L-~ treatment. Somatic embryos developed after subculture under light. Embryos showed scutellum-like structures and coleoptile-coleorhiza bipolar organization. Plantlets were regenerated from all genotypes except Brazos, whose embryoids failed to germinate. All callus from Brazos eventually senesced. Light and scanning electron microscopy confirmed regeneration through somatic embryogenesis.
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