Influence of strigolactones and auxin on Sutherlandia (Lessertia) frutescens in vitro plant tissue cultures
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Sutherlandia frutescens (L.) R. Br., also known as Lessertia frutescens, is a leguminous shrub indigenous to southern Africa.Traditionally this plant has been used for the treatment of various ailments; current interest in this plant has escalated after it was announced that extracts could aid in the relief and treatment of HIV/AIDS.These extracts contain an array of metabolites, including sutherlandins, sutherlandiosides L-arginine, L-canavanine, asparagine, gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA), and various other amino acids, which have been linked to medicinal uses.This study focused on the use of hormones to promote the growth and metabolite production of S. frutescens in vitro cultures.The growth promoting substances used in this study were synthetic analogues of strigolactones, GR24 and Nijmegen-1, and auxins, indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA).The first part of this study focused on the effects strigolactones and auxins, alone and combined, had on the growth of S. frutescens in vitro nodal explants.The S. frutescens nodal explants had the most significant improvement in growth with treatments that contained 1 mg/L NAA.These treatments increased growth via fresh and dry mass and plant length.The metabolite content of these nodal explant cultures was evaluated using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) metabolite analysis.The treatments that contained 1 mg/L NAA differed in metabolite composition and showed an increase in metabolite quantity.The SU1 content of the treated plants was also quantified using LC/MS techniques and a combination of 1 mg/L NAA and Nijmegen-1 doubled the amount of SU1.The effect of strigolactones was also studied using hairy root cultures of S. frutescens.Strigolactones alone slightly inhibited the formation of lateral transgenic roots, but when these chemicals were used in combination with auxins, significant reduction in dry mass and lateral Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za iv root outgrowth resulted.Of the treatments tested in this study, 0.1 mg/L IBA caused noticeable alterations to the metabolite pool, with amino acids such as GABA and arginine accumulating at higher levels than the control explants.The exploitation of hormones to up-regulate the growth and metabolism of the medicinally important plant, Sutherlandia frutescens, proved successful in this study.The use of in vitro nodal explants along with hairy root cultures has assisted in the establishment of a stable system for the up-regulation of metabolites.
Author: Maria Catharina Grobbelaar
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2160819862