Somatic embryogenesis and flow cytometric assessment of nuclear genetic stability for Sansevieria spp.: an approach for in vitro regeneration of ornamental plants

Sansevieria Thunb. species are traditionally known as succulent ornamental plants world- wide. They are also cultivated for medicinal, fodder, soil conservation and fiber uses, and for their capacity to reduce environmental pollution. Sansevieria sexual propagation is limited by the lack of viable seeds, and reproduction is largely made via vegetative propagation by suckers or cuttings. For these reasons, genetic improvement by conventional breeding is limited. To overcome this problem and to address the increasing demand from customers for novel Sansevieria varieties, many commercial companies regularly use in vitro propagation, as is the case in the breeding process of several ornamental plants. In this paper, for the first time, we report a procedure for in vitro somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration starting from three flower explants for seven different Sansevieria genotypes. Regeneration was attempted using stigmas/styles, anther/filament, and ovary which were cultured on a Murashige and Skoog solidified medium under three different plant growth regulator combinations. A good regeneration rate was obtained with all genotypes used under all culture conditions tested from every explant type, with percentages ranging from 0 to 73.3%. “Genetic stability” assessment of regenerated plants in respect to their mother plants was verified through flow cytometry analysis showing a high degree of uniformity, with only S. parva exhibiting a different level of DNA fluorescence among in vitro regenerated plants. This is an interesting achievement in the aim to produce true-to-type plants and new variants with desirable characteristics, both of which are desired features in ornamentals improvement.