Effects of soil conductivity on properties of saffron corms and in vitro production of its style explants

Document Type : Original Research Papers

Authors

Faculty of Science, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran, P.O. Box: 1993891176

Abstract

Saffron is the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus L., a member of the Iridaceae family which is
propagated by means of corms. Corms are faced with many stresses in soil. Therefore, it is
important to reduce these stresses and improve the quantity of saffron production. Biotic and
abiotic stresses disrupt the metabolic balance of cells; thereby, resulting in accumulation of
reactive oxygen species (ROS) which cause oxidative damage. In this study, the effect of soil
electrical conductivity (EC) on biochemical indicators of corms, the percentages of callus
formation and stigma-like structures (SLSs) on calli were investigated. In order to obtain calli
and SLSs, immature style explants from floral buds of corms were collected from three regions
(Shahroud, Mardabad and Torbat Heydarieh) and used for tissue culture. Style explants were
separated first from the immature floral buds, then sterilized and used for tissue culture.
Biochemical analysis of calli with SLSs including malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline
contents, antioxidant enzymes activities and polysaccharides and reducing sugars contents were
investigated and compared. Moreover, sodium and potassium ions content and EC of soils of
the three regions were investigated. The results indicated that corms from Shahroud with the
highest level of EC soil showed more imposed stress than that from Torbat Heidariye and
Mardabad but the calli percentage and number of SLSs of Mardabad’s were higher than those of
the other two respectively. In this study, a close relationship between soil EC and in vitro
production of saffron with a short glance on epigenetic modification was postulated.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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