Highly efficient microtuber formation, direct shoot regeneration, and root induction in Cyclamen persicum Mill. from in vitro seedling-derived tuber and leaf segments

The ornamental crop Cyclamen persicum is one of the important perennial pot plants in the world, which is commercially propagated by seeds. The present study developed a highly effective method for microtuber formation and direct shoot regeneration using in vitro leaves and tubers from three different cultivars: Pure White, Neon Pink, and Dark Violet. Explants were transferred to 1/2 Murashige and Skoog basal medium, which contains different levels of benzyladenine (BA) or thidiazuron (TDZ), for direct shoot regeneration or microtuber formation. Finally, the percentage of explants with direct regeneration and the average number of shoots or microtubers in each explant were determined. The highest number of directly regenerated shoots (27.1) was observed on leaf explants of cultivar Pure White at 0.25 mg L-1 TDZ and 0.1 mg L-1 alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The highest number of proliferated microtubers (17.1) was observed from the culture of tuber cuts in the media supplemented with 1.0 mg L-1 BA and 0.1 mg L-1 NAA in darkness in cultivars Neon Pink and Pure White. The best rooting regarding the number and the length of the roots resulted from 0.5 or 1.0 mg L-1 NAA. Finally, the rooted shoots were transferred to the soil and 58% of them acclimated successfully to the greenhouse conditions.