IN-VITRO ORGANOGENESIS OF OPHIORRHIZA MONGOOSE LINN FROM ROOT
AND INTERNODE EXPLANTS
Camptothecin (CPT) analogues and derivatives serve as a novel class of effective
anticancer agents that exert their action against DNA topoisomerase-I. This paper
presents procedures for the rapid, high frequency regeneration of a camptothecin
producing plant. Internode explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium
Ophiorrhiza mongoose Linn via shoot organogenesis. The concentrations of plant
growth regulators and explant types exhibited discrete roles in the efficacy of shoot
induction. N6- Benzyladenine (BA) was the most effective cytokinin for the induction of
shoots. MS medium with 8.83 -M BA and 2.46 -M indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) yielded
the highest number of shoots from leaf and internode explants (76.3 and 90.2 shoots
respectively). In the case of leaf explants, explants from the proximal end produced a
higher number of shoots than those from the mid and distal end. Leaf supplemented
with a α-naphthaleneacetic acid a NAA and BA developed shoots, calli and roots.
Excision and culture of internode and proximal leaf explants from the established
cultures on MS basal medium significantly enhanced the number of shoots and yielded
a mean of 18.3 and 13.7 shoots respectively within 40 days. Shoots cultured on halfstrength
MS basal medium with 10.74 -M NAA and 2.32 -M Kinetine (Kn) produced a
mean of 48.2 roots per shoot. Direct transfer of rootless healthy shoots showed a 50%
survival rate, whilst it was 100 percent in the case of in vitro rooted shoots.
This