Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
(eISSN: 2229-4473)
Artificial seeds production for propagation and germplasm transfer of Blepharispermum subsessile DC., an endemic medicinal plant of India
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Monalisa Kumari, Behera Shashikanta, Pidika Siba Prasad, Naik Soumendra Kumar
Research Articles | Published: 30 July, 2026
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Keywords: Genetic fidelity, Medicinal plant, Calcium-alginate encapsulation, Plant regeneration, Synthetic seed, Tissue culture
Abstract
An artificial seed-mediated plant regeneration protocol was developed using axenic nodal explants of Blepharispermum subsessile, an important medicinal plant. Artificial seeds were produced by encapsulating the axenic nodal segments using sodium alginate (3.0%) and calcium chloride (100 mM) prepared with the help of Murashige and Skoog’s (1962) medium (MS) with 2.0 mg/L meta-Topolin (mT). The best sprouting of artificial seed (100%) was recorded on MS + 2.0 mg/L mT. Further, artificial seeds were stored at 25 °C and 4 °C up to eight weeks. The sprouting capacity of the artificial seeds stored at 25 °C was higher (63.3%) than that stored at 4 °C (36.7%). Shoots proliferated from artificial seeds were rooted on half-strength MS augmented with 0.5 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid. The plantlets were acclimatized successfully. The clonal stability of the plants produced from freshly prepared and stored artificial seeds was established by Inter Simple Sequence Repeats markers. Also, the phytochemical analysis of artificial seed-derived plants confirmed their biochemical fidelity. This study reports, for the first time, the production of the artificial seed system for B. subsessile. This protocol could be suitable for plant propagation, conservation, and transfer of germplasm of this scientifically less explored but already threatened endemic medicinal plant of India.
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Author Information
Department of Botany, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, India