Research note

DOI: 10.15287/afr.2015.345

Influence of antibiotics on indirect organogenesis of Teak

Evandro Vagner Tambarussi , Marcelo Rogalski, Fábio Tebaldi Silveira Nogueira, Gilvano Ebling Brondani, Valentina de Fátima De Martin, Helaine Carrer

Evandro Vagner Tambarussi
Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Departamento de Biologia, Rod. João Leme dos Santos, Km 110, Sorocaba, SP, 18052-780, Brazil. Email: tambarussi@gmail.com
Marcelo Rogalski
Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil
Fábio Tebaldi Silveira Nogueira
Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Gilvano Ebling Brondani
Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso, Brazil
Valentina de Fátima De Martin
Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Helaine Carrer
Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

Online First: March 09, 2015
Tambarussi, E., Rogalski, M., Nogueira, F., Brondani, G., De Martin, V., Carrer, H. 2015. Influence of antibiotics on indirect organogenesis of Teak. Annals of Forest Research DOI:10.15287/afr.2015.345


Agrobacterium is the largest method employed to transform woody plants. The bacterium is required to introduce the transgene into the plant nuclear genome. After transferring T-DNA to the plant cell, the bacteria affect plant growth negatively and have to be eliminated from plant tissue culture medium through the use of antibiotics. The effect of different antibiotics (timentin, cefotaxime and carbenicillin) on in vitro shoot regeneration of teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) was compared in hypocotyl, mature cotyledon and cotyledonary segments explants. Timentin and cefotaxime (100-300 mg l-1) did not affect shoot regeneration and the number of shoots per explant. Moreover, at these concentrations, the two antibiotics seem to stimulate shoot regeneration. Carbenicillin at a dosage of 300 mg l-1 as well as cefotaxime and timentin at a dosage of 500 mg l-1 induced abundant calli formation and inhibited regeneration. Our data show that cefotaxime and timentin (300 mg l-1) can be harmless to teak regeneration and can be used as bactericide agents during Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Tectona grandis. Furthermore, we discuss the effect of antibiotic degradation on plant morphogenesis and its effect on regeneration from different explants.


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