Different behavior of alloplasmic lines of Zea mays under tissue culture
--Galian, LR; Hirschhorn, E; Caso, O

Callus generation and regeneration frequency in corn (Zea mays L.) depends on plant donor cultivars and is under genetic control. Frequency is also affected by environmental conditions of mother plants, and later in vitro culture conditions for the explants. Many workers have defined methods for modifying in vitro conditions, to obtain new adapted genotypes. But the effort had limited results. A factor which is not considered often enough is cytoplasm influence on in vitro culture adaptation. Mazoti (1978, 1987) has identified nucleus-cytoplasm interactions, using corn lines of two distinct cytoplasms. These interactions were called heritable cytoplasmic actions. This means that the cytoplasm conditions the expression of the genotype. One inbred line was improved in two different cytoplasms, called E (Euchlaena cytoplasm) and Z (Zea mays ssp. mays cytoplasm).

The inbreds E and Z respond favorably to N6 salts with 3% sucrose. It may be deduced that the most appropiate 2,4-D concentratiion for the inbred E is 0.5 mg/l without kinetin. On the other hand, the inbred Z needs kinetin in the culture medium to originate regenerative callus.


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