Elaboration of micropropagation system of medicinal plant yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp.) H. Rob.)

Yacon becomes an important plant with strong medical and dietary potential. Therefore, studies on the optimization of yacon micropropagation were undertaken. Reproduction of yacon is conducted by traditional methods with green seedlings or long offsets taken from the underground and aboveground rootstock. The influence of different disinfection methods, various initial explants and growth regulators, their concentrations, and combinations on the efficiency of micropropagation have been analyzed. The most effective disinfection was the use of 70% ethanol and 0.5% Tween 20. The optimal initial explants were apical and lateral buds cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 0.2 mg L–1 kinetin and 1 mg L–1 indole-3-acetic acid. The most intensive shoot regeneration occurred on MS medium with 1 mg L–1 thidiazuron and 1-naphthylacetic acid. Histological observations demonstrated the strong effect of growth substances on shoot organogenesis from callus tissue. Shoots obtained from in vitro cultures rooted easily on modified MS media with ½ or ¼ concentration of macroelements, 20 g L–1 sucrose and 3 mg L–1 1-naphthylacetic acid. All plants adapted to ex vitro conditions.