Abstract
We are interested in studying certain stress tolerance traits in perennial sea lavender Limonium latifolium, a member of the halophytic plant family Plumbaginaceae. This species is important in ornamental horticulture for fresh and dry cut flowers. Plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis is an efficient route to propagate genetically uniform plants for conventional breeding and genetic transformation. We have developed a protocol to induce somatic embryogenesis from 5-day old cotyledon and hypocotyl explants. The explants were cultured on agar-solidified Murashige and Skoog's medium supplemented with 3% (wt./v) sucrose, 1 mg.r1 2,4-D and 0.1 mg.l'1 kinetin. Globular embryogenic calli developed in two weeks and differentiated into the cotyledonary stage embryos. Experiments are in progress to optimize in vitro embryo maturation to the seedling stage. This is the first report of somatic embryogenesis in L. latifolium.
