High frequency plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis in Podophyllum peltatum L., an important source of anticancer drug

Podophyllum peltatum (L.) is an important medicinal plant that produces podophyllotoxin with anti-cancer properties. In the present study, we report the establishment of plantlet regeneration of P. peltatum via somatic embryogenesis. Somatic embryos differentiated directly from cotyledon explants of zygotic embryos on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with 21.6 mu M alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid after 8 weeks of culture. An embryogenic callus developed from cotyledon explants of somatic embryos on MS medium + 6.78 mu M 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid under continuous darkness after 6 weeks of culture. When the embryogenic callus was first grown on MS basal medium + abscisic acid (11.35 mu M) for three weeks, followed by sub-culturing onto plain MS basal medium, it led to the development of high frequency somatic embryogenesis. Germination of cotyledonary somatic embryos was noticed on MS basal medium with the addition of 2.89 mu M gibberellic acid after two weeks. The germinated embryos grow into plantlets with well-developed roots. Rooted plantlets were acclimatized in soil. The present protocol can be widely used for micropropagation and metabolic engineering.