IN VITRO CULTURE OF FLORAL BUDS OF AQUILEGIA

Tepfer, S. S., R. I. Greyson, W. R. Craig, and J. L. Hindman. (U. Oregon, Eugene.) In vitro culture of floral buds of Aquilegia. Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(10): 1035–1045. Illus. 1963.—Floral buds at various stages of development, from early stages before sepal initiation to late stages with young carpel primordia present, were grown in culture on various agar media. A basic medium containing White's minerals, Nitsch's trace elements, coconut milk, sucrose, and assorted water-soluble vitamins was developed for growth of the buds. The addition of indoleacetic acid, gibberellic acid, and kinetin to the basic medium extended the developmental limits of buds at nearly all stages and decidedly improved the continued development of carpels. On this medium buds produce all of their organ primordia, growing from early stages to about the size of flowers at anthesis, but will not develop unless the sepals are removed. This inhibiting effect of sepals is not understood at this time. Stamen development is consistently poor beyond the point of differentiation of anther and filament, even with the addition of hormones. The development of buds in culture is illustrated and compared with development in intact plants. With further improvement of the medium, it is hoped that these buds may be used for experiments testing theories of floral morphogenesis.