A simple method for microtuber production in Dioscorea opposita using single nodal segments.

Mingjun Li; Junhua Li; Yipeng Wang; Wen Liu; Xiaobo Guo; Shujie Li; Linlin Han; Zhihui Song; Xiting Zhao; Qingxiang Yang

Mingjun Li College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China;Engineering Technology Research Center of Nursing and Utilization of Genuine Chinese Crude Drugs, University of Henan Province, Xinxiang 453007, China;Engineering Laboratory of Green Medicinal Material Biotechnology, Henan Province, Xinxiang, China

Junhua Li College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China;Engineering Technology Research Center of Nursing and Utilization of Genuine Chinese Crude Drugs, University of Henan Province, Xinxiang 453007, China;Engineering Laboratory of Green Medicinal Material Biotechnology, Henan Province, Xinxiang, China

Yipeng Wang College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China

Wen Liu College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China

Xiaobo Guo College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China

Shujie Li College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China

Linlin Han College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China

Zhihui Song College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China

Xiting Zhao College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China;Engineering Technology Research Center of Nursing and Utilization of Genuine Chinese Crude Drugs, University of Henan Province, Xinxiang 453007, China;Engineering Laboratory of Green Medicinal Material Biotechnology, Henan Province, Xinxiang, China

Qingxiang Yang College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China;Key Laboratory for Microorganisms and Functional Molecules, University of Henan Province, Xinxiang, China

Dioscorea opposita Thunb. (Chinese yam) is an important tuber crop in East Asia because of its dual benefits edible and medicinal properties. Microtubers may provide a feasible alternative to in-vitro-grown plantlets as a means of micropropagation and a way to exchange healthy planting material. In this study, we have developed a simplified culture method for In vitro production of microtubers from D. opposita cv. ‘Tiegun’. In this method, microtubers formed in 98% of the internodes of single nodal segments after four weeks of dark-incubation when cultured in MS medium supplemented with 60 g sucrose l-1 with shaking. Anatomical observations strongly supported the process of tuberization. We also found that 66% of the microtubers produced In vitro sprouted two months after transfer to vermiculite. The protocol presented here provides a simple model for studying the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms of tuberization in D. opposita, and shows good potential for large-scale production of microtubers as well.