Somatic Embryogenesis and Acclimatization from Anther Culture of Panax Ginseng C. A. Meyer

Background: Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer is a valuable crop in Asia especially in Korea and China. However, it takes over 3 years for ginseng to produce seeds due to its lengthy juvenile period. This hinders the industry development and limits potential propagation of new cultivars. Anther cultures could provide homozygous plants within a year, however, P. ginseng embryogenesis using alternative cultures have not been reported.Methods and Results: Anthers were inoculated in the callus induction media supplemented with various hormones including auxin and cytokinin. Callus induction occurred in all media, ranging from 62.9% to 83.8%, except for the medium without no hormone. The embryo formation rate was low (0.4% - 4.2%). The highest embryo formation was observed in the medium supplemented with 1.0㎎/ℓ of 2,4-D in isolation. Moreover, addition of gibberellic acid effectively aided in embryo germination. After culturring for 5 months, plantlets with taproot roots were transplanted into the soil and as a result high sprouting rate of approximately 80.0% was observed. The flow cytometry analysis revealed no difference in the ploidy level was found between the anther culture-derived and control plants.Conclusions: Embryogenesis and plant regeneration of P. ginseng could be contributed by the anther culture to produce homozygous individuals.