<b>Comparison of different methodologies for obtaining callus cultures from Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni</b> - DOI: 10.4025/actascihealthsci.1090

Abstract

The leaves from Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni (Asteraceae) contain diterpenoid glycosides (GDS), which are almost 300 times sweeter than sucrose at 4%. The subject of this study was to evaluate the callus-formation from in vivo and in vitro leaves of Stevia rebaudiana in two already described in literature: Murashige and Skoog (MS) supplemented with 3 mg L^-1 of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D); MS supplemented with 1 mg L^-1 of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 0.5 mg L^-1 of 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BAP) and other developed in our laboratory the Woody Plant Medium (WPM) with 6 mg L^-1 of NAA and 4 mg L^-1 of Kinetin (KIN). The explants obtained in vitro initiated callus formation faster than leaves from natural plants. The utilization of WPM nutrients, associated with an adequate combination of phytoregulators, provided greater callus induction velocity and multiplication than the media that using MS nutrients. New experiments will be conducted after reaching genetic stability of the calluses, seeking to evaluate the capacity of these calluses to biosynthesize GDS