In vitro Tuberization and Colchicine Content Analysis of Gloriosa superba L.

Abstract

A B S T R A C T Gloriosa superba L. is an herbaceous climber distributed in tropical parts of the world. Pharmaceutically important alkaloid-colchicine, present in its tubers and seeds and due to overexploitation it becomes vulnerable in the forests. In the present investigation, in vitro tuber production was carried out for its propagation and conservation. The plant possesses a very strong apical dominance. Consequently, any damage to the plant apical meristem is fatal for it which was also exhibited during in vitro culture. Only apical meristems were able to produce a single and un-branched shoots and nodal explants were remained dormant even in the presence of exogenous cytokinin. The in vitro propagation was accomplished by the microtuber formation technique, in two steps. Maximum number of microtubers 9.8±0.8 per culture in eight weeks, were produced in vitro on Murashige and Skoog medium with sucrose (60 g LG 1 ) and in the presence of 35.5 µM 6-benzyladenine (BA) with citric acid and polyvinyl pyrrolidone-40. Subsequently the induced microtubers were sub-cultured on to the medium with lower cytokinin level, 8.88 µM BA. The individual microtubers with shoots were subjected to a single step rooting and in vitro acclimatization in coco-pit containing vessels, exhibited 90% survival. In vitro grown tubers contained less percentage of colchicine than the natural field-grown plant tubers. However, microtubers showed increased colchicine content, as they grow older.

Optimizing callus induction and indirect organogenesis in non-dormant corm explants of Gloriosa superba (L.) via media priming

“…Unfortunately, a concerning trend of rapid decline is observed in numerous therapeutic plant species (Castillo-Peŕez et al, 2021). Among these, the Glory Lily stands out, facing excessive exploitation in its natural habitat due to the rich presence of colchicine and other valuable alkaloids endowed with medicinal and commercial significance (Kumar et al, 2015). Furthermore, traditional horticultural cultivation encounters limitations, exacerbated by challenges in the natural reproduction of Gloriosa superba L., characterized by low seed production and the dormancy of both seeds and tubers (Kaur and Ganjewala, 2019).…”

Biorhizome: A Biosynthetic Platform for Colchicine Biomanufacturing

“…There is very little gene expression information regarding rhizome development and cascade mechanisms involving biosynthesis of small molecules (Li et al, 2014). However, G. superba in vitro tuber cultures accumulate 0.01–0.1% DW of colchicine (Selvarasu and Kandhasamy, 2012; Kumar et al, 2015). Dormancy mechanisms may counteract biosynthesis of colchicine in field grown rhizomes, but this impediment has been overcome in the G. superba biorhizome.…”