ABSTRACT
Micropropagation of licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) by using intermediate nodal explants

Aaqib Shaheen1, 2, Munawar Ali2, Naveed Ahmad3, Yaser Hassan Dewir4, 5*, Salah El-Hendawy4, 6, and Ahmed M. Abd-El Gawad4, 7
 
Plant tissue culture techniques are useful for producing a large number of disease-free plant material. The aim of the present study was to determine the optimal nodal explant type (terminal, intermediate and basal) and cytokinins (6-benzyladenine and thidiazuron [TDZ] at concentrations of 0 to 3 mg L-1) for bud break and axillary shoot proliferation of Glycyrrhiza glabraL.The intermediate nodal explants were effective for the establishment of G.glabra asepticculture when compared with terminal or basal nodal explants. The highest bud break (89%) and axillary shoot proliferation (eight shoots) were observed when the intermediate nodal explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 2 mg L-1 TDZ for 30 d. The best rooting medium was MS medium supplemented with naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) compared with indole acetic acid; NAA at 6 mg L-1 yielded 78% rooting and an average of 6.3 roots per plantlet. The regenerated plantlets were acclimatized, with a survival rate of 77.7%, when transferred to ex vitro conditions and showed no morphological abnormalities. Thus, the high percentage of bud break and rate of shoot proliferation and successful acclimatization established a simple and efficient micropropagation of G.glabra.
Keywords: Acclimatization, Fabaceae, rooting, shoot proliferation, tissue browning.
1Henan University, School of Life Science, Cell Biology, Henan 475000, China.
2Qarshi Research International (Pvt) Ltd., Department of Biotechnology and Tissue Culture Laboratory (BTL), Hattar, District Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province 22610, Pakistan.
3Jilin Agricultural University, Department of Biotechnology, Changchun 130118, China.
4King Saud University, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, Plant Production Department, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. *Corresponding author (ydewir@ksu.edu.sa).
5Kafrelsheikh University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt.
6Suez Canal University, Faculty of Agr