Application of tissue culture techniques for propagation and crop improvement in mulberry (Morus spp.). (Special Issue: Tree micropropagation and tissue culture.)

摘要

Mulberry (Morus spp.) is an economically important tree grown widely in China, India and several other countries in Asia. The major economic product of mulberry is its leaf which is used for feeding the monophagous silkworm Bombyx mori L. Mulberry leaf is also used as fodder for livestock. Mulberry fruit is good for human consumption. Although mulberry is amenable to both sexual and asexual methods of reproduction, due to the high heterozygosity of the parental lines and long juvenile periods, propagation is mainly through stem cuttings or bud grafting. However, success of propagation through stem cuttings is greatly dependent on the genotype, environment, and age of the planting materials. Besides, most of the temperate species are hard to root from the stem cuttings. Micropropagation is seen as a cost effective method for propagation of these species, though a number of factors affect the success. In this article, we summarize these factors along with the causes and remedies for them. Other applications of tissue culture such as germplasm conservation, screening for stress tolerance, triploid developments, genetic transformation, and their impacts on the sericulture industry have also been detailed and discussed.