Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
(eISSN: 2229-4473)
Hormonal regulation of prickly pear micropropagation and CemA gene expression under PEG stress
*Article not assigned to an issue yet
Alabtan Manaf K. M., Alqaisi Mustafa R. M., Abbas Adib Jassim
Research Articles | Published: 26 September, 2026
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Keywords: Cladodes, Micropropagation, Osmotic stress, Phytohormone, Polyethylene glycol, Signal transduction
Abstract
This study aimed to optimize the micropropagation of three Opuntia ficus-indica hybrids (Red, White, and Honey) and evaluate plastid-associated CemA (ycf10) gene expression under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced osmotic stress. Young cladodes were cultured on MS medium to identify optimal sterilization and plant growth regulator (PGR) combinations, followed by PEG 6000 exposure. Sterilization with 2.4% NaClO for 12 min maximized healthy explant recovery (88–94%). Significant genotype × PGR interactions emerged during multiplication; 2.0 mg L?1 BA and 0.2 mg L?1 IBA yielded the highest shoot proliferation, with the Red hybrid producing 8.0 shoots per explant. Conversely, the Honey hybrid achieved superior rooting (93%) in hormone-free medium. Under severe osmotic stress (20 g L?1 PEG), the Red hybrid exhibited adaptive morphological responses, increasing root proliferation from 4.8 to 8.0, while the Honey hybrid root count declined from 10.6 to 7.0 roots due to osmotic growth inhibition. Crucially, CemA expression was strictly genotype-dependent: it was upregulated 3.031-fold in the resilient Red hybrid—thereby supporting physiological stability under dehydration—but severely repressed (0.165-fold) in the sensitive Honey hybrid. These findings demonstrate that in vitro morphogenic and stress responses are strongly genotype-driven, identifying CemA transcriptional stability as a functional contributor to osmotic tolerance and a promising molecular marker for screening resilient cacti.
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Author Information
Presidency of Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq