SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS AND PLANTLET FORMATION FROM LEAF EXPLANTS OF SPONGE GOURD (Luffa aegyptiaca (MILL.) A MEDICINALLY IMPORTANT PLANT

An effective technique for the stimulation of somatic embryogenesis and plantlet regeneration from Leaf explants was developed in the sponge gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca (Mill.), which is significant in the field of medicinal botany. Fast-growing, yellowish nodular callus lines containing somatic embryos were established on an initiation medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L 2,4-D, 3.0 mg/L 2,4-5-T, and 2.0 mg/L NAA, respectively. Somatic embryos were induced directly from cotyledon explants on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium fortified with different concentrations of 2,4- Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2,4,5-trich On MS medium that was supplemented with 2.0 mg/L2,4-D and 1.5 mg/L TDZ, as well as 3.0 mg/L2,4-D and 2.0 mg/L BAP, embryo growth and good maturation were successfully accomplished. On an MS medium containing 2.0 mg/L TDZ and 2.0 mg/L NAA (-Naphthalene acetic acid), the well-formed embryos germinated into full plantlets and became plantlets. NAA stands for -Naphthalene acetic acid. The plants that had been regenerated were first transplanted into plastic cups and then into pots for maturation. After that, they were moved to soil and developed to maturity with an 80% survival rate, and the tissue culture-reared plants produced viable seeds.