In vitro establishment and morphogenesis of Operculina macrocarpa L. Urb (Convolvulaceae)

Abstract

Operculina macrocarpa L. Urb is a species popularly known as purge potato, a climbing plant from the Convolvulaceae family that has medicinal properties. In vitro cultivation could contribute to the production of seedlings on a large scale, favoring its commercialization process. This this study adjusted existing protocols for in vitro establishment and evaluated the effect of the interaction of growth regulators on the in vitro morphogenesis of O. macrocarpa. In the in vitro establishment process, the following were tested: 1x MS medium without activated charcoal, 1x MS medium with 1g.L-1 of charcoal, 1/2x MS medium (with 50% of the nutrient concentration) without charcoal and 1/2x MS medium with 1g.L-1 of charcoal. In addition to activated charcoal, the effect of gibberellic acid (GA3) was tested under the following conditions: 1x MS medium without GA3, 1x MS medium with 20μM of GA3 and 1x MS medium with 40 μM of GA3. After establishment in vitro, trials were carried out with different growth regulators. Initially, different concentrations of BAP were evaluated with 3 different segments of the plant (basal, median and apical). Different combinations of ANA x BAP and ANA x KIN were then tested. The experimental design was entirely randomized. The results obtained showed that it is possible to establish and multiply O. macrocarpa in vitro using the seed and the base of the stem, respectively, as a source of explant, in MS medium in the presence and absence of BAP.