Phenotypic and karyotypic status of Beta vulgaris plants regenerated from direct organogenesis in petiole culture.

A method for high frequency in vitro regeneration from petiole explants was tested on nine breeding lines of Beta vulgaris L. from the haploid, diploid and tetraploid levels. Regenerants could be obtained without a callus step, from excised petioles derived either from axillary buds sprouted in vitro or from field grown plants, by plating the explants on MS medium supplemented with TIBA (2,3,5-triiodobenzoïc acid) and BAP (6-Benzylaminopurine). The multiple shoots obtained were then rooted in vitro and transferred to soil. In some cases, these adventitious shoots were also used as a petiole explant source for further petiole culture cycles, and the phenotypic characteristics and ploidy status of the regenerants were investigated after one or three petiole culture cycles. Conventional shoot apex culture was used as an in vitro control. Phenotypic variations such as differences in morphology and changes in in vitro growth behaviour, were noticed. Chloroplast and chromosome counts indicated that the alterations in morphogenetic pathway could not be explained by the occurrence of gross cytogenetic abnormalities such as aneuploidy or myxoploidy. Our results suggest that the altered morphology is caused by the presence of the exogenous antiauxin (TIBA) during the in vitro phase. Following transfer to the greenhouse, none of these variations persisted and cytogenetic analyses revealed karyotypic stability in all the plants studied, even after three petiole culture cycles. An assessment of the in vitro petiole culture method as a true-to-type multiplication method for Beta vulgaris is made.