BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL CONTAMINANTS OF TISSUE-CULTURED 'LAKATAN' BANANA

This study aimed to characterize the bacterial and fungal contaminants of tissue-cultured 'Lakatan' banana (Musa acuminata) during initiation stage. This was conducted at the University of Southeastern Philippines, Tagum-Mabini Campus from October 2015 to February 2016. The sterilized banana explant was placed in a bottle of solidified nutrient agar medium. Detectable bacterial and fungal contaminants were isolated and sub-cultured into the fresh medium two to four days after incubation. The bacterial isolates were cultivated by streaking into fresh culture medium and incubated at 0 0 30-32 C for three days and fungi culture disk was transferred to fresh culture medium and incubated at 30-32 C for three to five days. Both bacterial and fungal contaminants were identified and characterized and assessed for extent of contamination. Results showed that the different contaminants occurred during the initiation stage of tissue-cultured 'Lakatan' banana meriplants were composed of Rhizopus sp., unidentified fungus and Gram-negative bacterium. Generally, 35% contamination was observed on this stage.