Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Ahead of Print
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • All Issues
  • Contribute
    • Submit to AUF
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
  • About
    • Overview
    • Editorial Board
    • Journal Metrics
    • International Society of Arboriculture
  • More
    • Contact
    • Feedback
  • Alerts

User menu

  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry
  • Log in
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Ahead of Print
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • All Issues
  • Contribute
    • Submit to AUF
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
  • About
    • Overview
    • Editorial Board
    • Journal Metrics
    • International Society of Arboriculture
  • More
    • Contact
    • Feedback
  • Alerts
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Research ArticleArticles

Propagation of Platanus × Acerifolia from Meristem Tips

Adam Krzewski, Maria Witomska and D.F. Millikan
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF) September 1980, 6 (9) 250-252; DOI: https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.1980.059
Adam Krzewski
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
Maria Witomska
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
D.F. Millikan
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Listen

Explants of Platanus × acerifolia aseptically excised and placed on the MS medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/l vitamin C, 0.1 mg/1 BAP and 0.01 NAA will develop into complete plantlets. A month of darkness following seven weeks exposure to continuous light (1300-1500 lux) is necessary to induce rooting.

Meristem tip culture was used in the early 50’s by Morel and Martin (1952) to produce virus-free clones from infected plants. They obtained virus-free explants from infected dahlia cultivars but were unable to induce rooting. They did obtain healthy plants by grafting these explants on virus-free seedlings. Meristem culture was then extended to other crops and was responsible for the development of cultured carnation, chrysanthemum and geranium programs. It has also been extended to woody species (Bonga, 1977). Although success in meristem culture with the tree crops has been limited, virus-free clones of hybrid poplars (Berbee et al. 1972) and cassava (Berbee et al. 1973) have been obtained from meristem tips. We have studied the propagation of sycamore, Platanus × acerifolia Willd. by means of meristem tip culture.

The terminal 5 to 6 cm of one-year-old shoots of P. acerifolia were removed from trees growing on the University of Warsaw campus on March 28, 1978, and again on May 9. Excision and transfers of apical meristems were performed in a small (1.5  ×  2.0  ×  2.5 m)  closed transfer room equipped with ultraviolet lights. Prior to use, the walls, floors and ceiling of the transfer room were washed with 95% ethanol and then exposed to at least 3 hours of irradiation. Preliminary studies with Platanus and other woody species indicated that the Murashige-Skoog (MS) medium (1962) supplemented with benzyladenine (BAP), naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 0.1 mg/l vitamin C supported growth of the explants and demonstrated a superiority of solid medium over a liquid medium with filter paper bridges. Consequently, the supplemented MS medium solidified with 1 % agar was used in our studies.

Fig. 1.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 1.

Explant (X4) of Platanus acerífolia after six weeks exposure to continuous light (1330 to 1500 lux). Note good callus growth and shoot development.

In preparation of the March collection, the outer bud scales were first removed from the terminal bud. The meristem covered with 2 or 3 remaining scales was then dipped in 79% ethanol, immersed in 3% monochloraminum solution for 30 min and rinsed in five changes of sterile distilled water. The remaining bud scales were removed and the meristem containing 2 or 3 leaf primordia excised and placed on agar in test tubes (20  ×  150 mm) which were then plugged with cotton. In the May collection, the emerging shoots were sterilized immediately, then, the meristems excised and treated as earlier.

Fig. 2.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 2.

Explant (X4) of Platanus acerifolia after seven weeks exposure to continuous light (1300 to 1500 lux) followed by one month of darkness. Note development of roots and shoot.

The March bud collections consisted of 200 meristems in test tubes of which 100 were exposed to continuous light of 1300 to 1500 lux at 25-30 to 50C under 80% humidity. The other 100 were kept in the dark under the same conditions of temperature and humidity. On May 20, the surviving explants in each of the two treatments were divided into four groups and then transferred to four different MS media supplemented with vitamin C plus 0.01 or 0.1 mg/l BAP and 0.01 or 0.1 mg/l NAA. No shoots developed from any of the explants but the rooting and survival percentage were superior on the explants exposed to the dark conditions.

The May collection consisted of 160 terminal buds which were breaking dormancy. These were divided so that 40 explants were placed on each of the different BAP:NAA combinations and exposed to continuous light for seven weeks when half were transferred to continuous dark conditions and the other half kept under continuous light (Table 1). After one month only a few of the explants exposed to continuous light had roots and only one developed into a complete plant. Of the plants exposed to the dark conditions 30 to 60% had roots and 45% of these developed into complete plantlets. The greatest percentage of rooting occurred on those explants growing on the agars containing 0.1 mg/l BAP but that with the 0.01 mg/l NAA had the greater percentage of fully differentiated plantlets. These plantlets had pale, etiolated leaves which rapidly turned green upon exposure to light.

View this table:
  • View inline
  • View popup
Table 1.

Rooting and production of plantlets from explants of Platanus × acerifolia

These observations indicate that plantlets of P. acerifolia will differentiate from meristem tips. Presently, the usefulness of meristem tip culture of P. acerifolia appears to be restricted to obtaining healthy plants from infected trees but if the plantets can be induced to multiply in vitro as in strawberry (Boxus et al. 1977) it will provide a rapid method for vegetative propagation of healthy clones of sycamore.

The MS medium supplemented with BAP, NAA and 0.1 mg/l vitamin C supports good growth of the explants under the proper environmental conditions and growth regulator balance. Precise temperature control isn’t critical but seven weeks of initial exposure to continuous light followed by a month of darkness provides favorable conditions for organogenesis. Concentrations of 0.1 mg/l BAP and 0.01 mg/l NAA appear to be an effective regulator balance.

Our study also demonstrates that meristem tip culture does not require elaborate equipment, confirming the observations of Stoltz (1980). Only those conditions which minimize contamination and provide reasonable temperature control appear to be essential.

Footnotes

Listen
  • ↵1 Joint contribution from the Agricultural University of Warsaw and Department of Plant Pathology, UMC, and published as Journal No. 8477, approved by the Director of the Missouri Agriculture Experiment Station and Supported in part by a grant to D.F. Millikan.

  • ↵Respectively, former student and Professor of Ornamental Horticulture, Agricultural University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland, and Professor of Plant Pathology, UMC.

  • © 1980, International Society of Arboriculture. All rights reserved.

Literature Cited

Listen
  1. ↵
    1. Berbee, F.M.,
    2. J.G. Berbee and
    3. A.C. Hilderbrandt
    . 1972. Induction of callus and trees from stem tip cultures of hybrid poplars. In Vitro 7 (Abstr.):269.
    OpenUrl
  2. ↵
    1. Berbee, F.M.,
    2. J.G. Berbee and
    3. A.C. Hilderbrandt
    . 1973. Induction and callus and virus symptomless plants from stem tip cultures of cassava. In Vitro 8 (Abstr.):421.
    OpenUrl
  3. ↵
    1. Bonga, J.M.
    1977. Application of tissue culture in forestry, pp. 93-108. In Applied and Fundamental Aspects of Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture. 803 p. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg and New York.
    1. Morel, F. and,
    2. C Martin
    . 1952. Guerison de Dahlias atteints d’une maladie a virus. Compt. Rend. 235:1324-1325.
    OpenUrl
    1. Murashige, T. and
    2. F. Skoog
    . 1962. A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol. Plant 15:473-497.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Stoltz, L.P.
    1980. Getting Started in Tissue Culture. Equipment and Costs. In Press. Comb. Proc. Int. Plant Prop. Soc. 29.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF)
Vol. 6, Issue 9
September 1980
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Print
Download PDF
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Propagation of Platanus × Acerifolia from Meristem Tips
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Arboriculture & Urban Forestry
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Arboriculture & Urban Forestry web site.
Citation Tools
Propagation of Platanus × Acerifolia from Meristem Tips
Adam Krzewski, Maria Witomska, D.F. Millikan
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF) Sep 1980, 6 (9) 250-252; DOI: 10.48044/jauf.1980.059

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Propagation of Platanus × Acerifolia from Meristem Tips
Adam Krzewski, Maria Witomska, D.F. Millikan
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF) Sep 1980, 6 (9) 250-252; DOI: 10.48044/jauf.1980.059
del.icio.us logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Footnotes
    • Literature Cited
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Contribution of Urban Trees to Ecosystem Services in Lisbon: A Comparative Study Between Gardens and Street Trees
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in Tree Risk Assessment (TRA): A Systematic Review
  • Thiabendazole as a Therapeutic Root Flare Injection for Beech Leaf Disease Management
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

© 2025 International Society of Arboriculture

Powered by HighWire