Regeneration and Histological Analysis of Regeneration in Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Stand.)

Two different types of explant (proximal and flamingo-bill) from Emphasis seedlings, a hybrid cultivar of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Stand.), germinated under dark and light conditions were cultured on 9 regeneration MS media containing various combinations of BA (0, 1.0, and 2.0 mg l–1) and IAA (0, 0.25, and 0.5 mg l–1). Comparison of the explant types showed that the flamingo-bill type explant had better shoot formation than did the proximal explant. The MS medium containing 1 mg l–1 of BA was optimal for shoot formation capacity when flamingo-bill type explants germinated in the dark (44%) and light (36%) were used. Histological analysis showed that explant cell division began after 3 days in regeneration medium and formation of primordium was observed in the tissues in culture between days 5 and 7. Differentiation of meristimatic structures was first observed after 9 days and development completed after 9-12 days in the culture.