Influence of Plant Growth Regulators and Artificial Light on the Growth and Accumulation of Inulin of Dedifferentiated Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) Callus Cells

Chicory (Chicorium intybus L.) is a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae, widely distributed in Asia and Europe, commonly used industrially as a raw material for extracting inulin because of a high content of inulin and biologically active compounds. Light conditions and plant growth regulators (PGRs) are two of many factors that affect the growth and inulin content of chicory callus. The aim of this work is to study the effect of PGRs and light conditions on proliferation and accumulation of inulin of chicory callus in vitro. In this study, we used semi-solid MS medium supplemented with different auxins (including Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), naphthylacetic acid (NAA), and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D)) at a concentration of 5.5–9.5 mg/L in combination with 2.0 mg/L 6 benzylaminopurine (BA) to determine induction and proliferation of callus. The increasing value of callus fresh weight was used to assess the growth of the callus in treatments. The results showed that a steady increase in callus fresh weight and inulin content in callus cells was obtained when they were cultured on MS medium supplemented with a combination of 2.0 mg/L BA with 7.5 mg/L IAA in lighting conditions with radiation equalized by the flux density of photosynthetic photons and ratios of radiation levels in the region of FR—far red > R—red. Increasing demand for organic inulin sources in production practice can be met by our finding

Effects of Light Spectral Quality on Photosynthetic Activity, Biomass Production, and Carbon Isotope Fractionation in Lettuce, Lactuca sativa L., Plants

The optimization of plant-specific LED lighting protocols for indoor plant growing systems needs both basic and applied research. Experiments with lettuce, Lactuca sativa L., plants using artificial lighting based on narrow-band LEDs were carried out in a controlled environment. We investigated plant responses to the exclusion of certain spectral ranges of light in the region of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR); in comparison, the responses to quasimonochromatic radiation in the red and blue regions were studied separately. The data on plant phenotyping, photosynthetic activity determination, and PAM fluorometry, indicating plant functional activity and stress responses to anomalous light environments, are presented. The study on carbon isotopic composition of photoassimilates in the diel cycle made it possible to characterize the balance of carboxylation and photorespiration processes in the leaves, using a previously developed oscillatory model of photosynthesis. Thus, the share of plant photorespiration (related to plant biomass enrichment with 13C) increased in response to red-light action, while blue light accelerated carboxylation (related to 12C enrichment). Blue light also reduced water use efficiency. These data are supported by the observations from the light environments missing distinct PAR spectrum regions. The fact that light of different wavelengths affects the isotopic composition of total carbon allowed us to elucidate the nature of its action on the organization of plant metabolism

Influence of Mineral Treatment, Plant Growth Regulators and Artificial Light on the Growth of Jewel Sweet Potato (<i>Ipomoea batatas</i> Lam. cv. Jewel) In Vitro

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam), a member of the bindweed family (Convolvulaceae Juss.), is well known for its food, medicinal, and industrial values. It is estimated that more than 7000 sweet potato cultivars have been bred to date. Jewel sweet potato (I. batatas Lam cv. Jewel) is one of the most popular cultivars of sweet potato grown today because of its high nutritional value, delicious taste, and is suitable for all processing methods. However, little is known about the micropropagation of jewel sweet potato. The purpose of this paper was to study the effect of three important factors, including culture medium, plant growth regulators (PGRs), and artificial light sources, on the induction, proliferation, and growth of in vitro I. batatas ‘Jewel’ shoots obtained from the axillary bud and shoot tip explants. The different Murashige and Skoog (MS) salt levels (33%, 50%, 100%, and 150%) were used to study the influence of mineral treatment. To assess the influence of PGRs, we used 0.5 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) combined with various cytokinins, including 0.5–2.0 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), 0.5–2.0 mg/L kinetin (Kn), and 0.1–1.0 mg/L thidiazuron (TDZ). On the other hand, the in vitro shoots were cultivated in a light room with different lighting conditions. Three lighting treatments (differences in the ratio between the red (R) and blue (B) spectra) were used. Research results have shown that the medium containing 50% MS salt concentration supplemented with 0.5 mg/L BAP or 0.5 mg/L Kn combined with 0.5 mg/L IAA was the most suitable for induction, proliferation, and growth of in vitro jewel sweet potato shoots. On the other hand, stem pieces bearing the axillary buds’ explants were determined to be suitable for the shoot induction. Using artificial light with different blue/red ratios also had a significant effect on the growth of explants and stimulates shoot or root formation