CONTAMINATION DURING MICROPROPAGATION: ANALYSIS OF THE BACTERIAL LINES AND TREATMENT WITH SAGE EXTRACT

S. Barberini, D. Di Silvestro, S. Fedi, G. Romussi, A. Basile, L. Pistelli, B. Ruffoni
The latent presence of bacteria in the plant tissues can cause severe economic damage due to their sudden appearance in the medium, generally related to stress. Chemicals and antibiotics have been used to control contamination. Extracts from the leaves of different Salvia species were found to have a general antibacterial activity towards several human and plant pathogens. The extract of Salvia somalensis containing high levels of carnosic acid was tested as agent against bacterial contamination in micropropagation. Contaminants of in vitro multiplied clones of Zanthedeschia aethiopica, Ranunculus hyb. and Paeonia hyb. were isolated. Purified bacterial lines were identified based on metabolic or molecular tests. Bacterial suspensions were treated with increasing concentrations of the sage extract (CA 50, 100, 200, 400 mg/L) to analyze bacteriostatic and bactericide activity. The effect of compounds on morphogenic parameters of in vitro grown Myrtus communis ‘tarentina’, Dianthus caryophyllus, Solidago virgaurea and Zanthedeschia aethiopica was tested to determine toxicity levels. The cultures showed increased senescence and root growth inhibition proportional to the increase of carnosic acid content in the medium.
Barberini, S., Di Silvestro, D., Fedi, S., Romussi, G., Basile, A., Pistelli, L. and Ruffoni, B. (2012). CONTAMINATION DURING MICROPROPAGATION: ANALYSIS OF THE BACTERIAL LINES AND TREATMENT WITH SAGE EXTRACT. Acta Hortic. 961, 81-88
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.961.7
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.961.7
bacteriosis, carnosic acid, Salvia somalensis
English

Acta Horticulturae