Full Length Research Paper

In vitro conservation of Ceropegia intermedia - an endemic plant of south India

Subbiah Karuppusamy*, Chadipiralla Kiranmai, Varimadugu Aruna and Thammineni Pullaiah

Department of Biotechnology and Botany, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapur – 515 003, Andhra Pradesh, India.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: ksamylin@yahoo.co.in Tel: +91-08554-255561. Fax: +91-08554-2555244.

Accepted 18 January, 2007

The purpose of this study was developing in vitro techniques for conserving wild and endemic species of Ceropegia intermedia by axillary shoot multiplication. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 6.66 µM N⁶ benzyladenine (BA) was best for axillary bud proliferation inducing a mean of 5.51 shoots per node.  Excision and culture of the nodal segments from the in vitro shoots on fresh medium with same concentration of BA facilitated development of more than 5 shoots per node. Subsequent subculture slightly enhanced up to third subcultures and decreased thereafter. Shoots developed were rooted best on half strength MS with 5.37 µM NAA. Plantlets established in pots exhibited 75% survival. Plantlets were successfully established in field and morphological characters were identical to mother plants.

Key words: Ceropegia intermedia, endemic species, axillary bud multiplication.