International Journal of Biotechnology Research Vol. 3(1), pp. 001-009, January 2015ISSN 2328-3505 ©2015 Academe Research Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Efficient callus induction and plantlets regeneration in bread wheat using immature and mature embryos

Najat Hakam^1,3, Sripada M. Udupa², Abdelwahd Rabha¹, Mohamed Ibriz³, and Driss Iraqi¹*

¹Biotechnology Unit, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Avenue de la  Victoire, B.P. 415,

Rabat, Morocco.

²ICARDA-INRA Cooperative Research Project, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), B.P. 6299, Rabat, Morocco.

³Laboratoire d’agrophysiologie et de culture in vitro Ibn Tofail University, Faculty of Sciences, BP: 133, 14000

Kenitra, Morocco.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: iraqid@yahoo.fr. Tel: + 212 6 61 16 46 16 / +212 6 60 15 72 42; Fax: + 212 5 37 77 55 30.

Accepted 27 November, 2014

Abstract

A study was conducted at Biotechnology Research Unit of National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA), Morocco during the year 2013. In this study, the effects of media, varieties and their interaction on callus induction and plant regeneration in bread wheat obtained from immature and mature embryos, used as explants, were studied. Four Moroccan bread wheat varieties ‘Achtar’, ‘Arréhane’, ‘Marchouch’ and ‘Mehdia’ and five induction and maintenance media (M1 to M5) were used to study effects of genotype and medium on embryogenic callus induction and plantlets regeneration. A significant effect of variety, medium and variety × medium interaction was observed for callus induction and regeneration from both immature and mature embryo explants. With respect to plantlets regeneration, the induction and maintenance media used for callus induction had a significant effect on plantlets regeneration (p<0.001). M1 (60.44%) and M4 (52.55%) showed higher plantlets regeneration rates from immature embryos and M3 (58.23%) for plantlets regeneration rates from mature embryos. The plantlets regeneration varied significantly depending on the varieties and the induction media used. Using immature embryos, the favorable medium was M1 for the varieties ‘Arréhane’ and ‘Mehdia’, whereas, M1 and M3 for ‘Achtar’ and M4 medium was favorable for ‘Marchouch’. For the mature embryos, the favorable medium was M3 for the varieties ‘Achtar’, ‘Arréhane’ and ‘Mehdia’, whereas M4 was the favorable medium for ‘Marchouch’ variety. These media will be used for embryogenic callus induction from mature and immature embryos and for genetic transformation.

Key words: Bread wheat, immature embryos, mature embryos, regeneration, somatic embryogenesis.