Storage of potato microplants in vitro in the presence of acetylsalicylic acid

Acetylsalicylic acid was investigated as an alternative medium supplement to mannitol for slow-growth in vitro storage of potato microplants. At 8°C, culture in the presence of either 100 μM acetylsalicylic acid or 4% mannitolretarded microplant stem growth, and required intervals between subcultures ranged from 8 to over 12 months, depending on the genotype. Several media were tested for recovery of clones from slow-growth storage, with similar efficiences of recovery achieved for microplants from either mannitol or acetylsalicylic acid media. Prolonged culture on acetylsalicylic acid had no adverse effects on the yield of minitubers on plantlets transferred to glasshouse cultivation. At 18°C also, intervals between subcultures could be prolonged to 5.5–6 months by culture on either mannitol or acetylsalicylic acid media. Microplants cultured on acetylsalicylic acid did not exhibit the frequent phenotypic abnormalities found in microplants on mannitol medium. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.