Scientists of the Michurinsk State Agrarian University have patented inventions to stimulate the formation and development of potato microtubers in vitro and to stimulate the germination of potato microtubers in vitro using ultrasound, reports press service of the university.
For the first study, university staff developed an algorithm for cultivating potato microcuttings in in vitro culture (in a test tube), which includes changes in temperature and light over a certain period of time. This made it possible to ensure maximum cell division at the initial stage of development, which ultimately accelerated the growth and development of potato microplants under in vitro conditions, increased their number of roots, and increased the number and mass of microtubers formed.
The second scientific discovery is based on the effect of ultrasound on biological objects. Scientists placed sterile potato microtubers in a liquid artificial nutrient medium and treated with ultrasound of different power. After that, the microtubers were planted and cultivated for a certain time in the dark, then they were grown under standard conditions of the culture room. As a result, when exposed to ultrasound, the germination of microtubers exceeded the traditional one by more than four times.
The team of authors included Roman Papikhin, Head of the Research Center for Biotechnology and Breeding of the Michurinsk State Agrarian University, Galina Pugacheva, Head of the Potato Breeding and Seed Laboratory, Maxim Dubrovsky, Head of the Clonal Rootstock and Other Fruit Crops Breeding Laboratory, and Svetlana Muratova, Head of the Biotechnology Training and Research Laboratory.
“These inventions were obtained during the implementation of a comprehensive scientific and technical project “Development of innovative technologies for the production of elite seed potatoes of promising varieties of domestic selection in the conditions of the Tambov region.” The use of our biotechnologies greatly increases the efficiency of clonal micropropagation and the production of potato microtubers,” says Roman Papikhin, a scientist at the Agricultural University.