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In vitro morphogenesis from cotyledon and epicotyl explants and flow cytometry distinction between landraces of Bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc], an under-utilised grain legumeAbstract The morphogenetic competence of Bambara groundnut was assessed for different landraces, explant sources and media compositions. With cotyledon explants, the best callusing occurred on a medium containing 3 mg/l BAP + 0.5 mg/l NAA, while roots were produced with 3-5 mg/l BAP + 0.5 mg/l NAA. Shoots regenerated (~6%) from cotyledons on media with BAP alone (3-5 mg/l) or combined with 0.01-0.1 mg/l NAA. Flowers were regenerated on 5 mg/l BAP + 0.5 mg/l NAA, without any intervening callus phase. With epicotyls, the highest callusing was on 3 mg/l BAP + 0.5 mg/l NAA, and shoots regenerated (15-20%) on 3 mg/l BAP alone or with NAA at concentrations that depended on the landrace studied. Regenerated shoots rooted on hormone-free medium, and plants transferred to the greenhouse were all morphologically normal and fertile. Flow cytometry showed that most regenerants were diploid and in addition permitted to distinguish between landraces according to their relative nuclear DNA content. This is the first report on de novo regeneration in vitro of Bambara groundnut, an important yet neglected legume crop.

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The role of auxins in the morphogenesis of immature seeds of Medicago truncatula was studied, focusing on the transition from the embryo cell division phase to seed maturation. We analyzed seed development in vitro, by flow cytometry, and through the determination of the kinetics of seed fresh weight and size. Thus, seeds were harvested at 8, 10 and 12 days after pollination and cultured in vitro on a medium either without auxin or supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) at 1 mg l −1 . All parameters studied were determined every 2 days from the start of in vitro culture. The results showed that both auxins increased the weight and size of seeds with NAA having a stronger effect than IBA. We further demonstrated that the auxin treatments modulate the transition between mitotic cycles and endocycles in M. truncatula developing seed by favoring sustained cell divisions while simultaneously prolonging endoreduplication, which is known to be the cytogenetical imprint of the transition from the cell division phase to the storage protein accumulation phase during seed development.