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Plant development and synthesis of essential oils in micropropagated and mycorrhiza inoculated plants of Origanum vulgare L. ssp. hirtum (Link) Ietswaart

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Abstract

Biomass production of micropropagated oregano was induced by inoculation with the fungus Glomus viscosum. The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis on morphological and metabolic variations of regenerated oregano plants were investigated at different growth stages. AM greatly increased parameters such as plant leaf area, fresh and dry weight, number of spicasters and verticillasters in infected plants. An increase of the gland density, especially on the upper leaf epidermis, was also observed following the physiological ageing of the tissues. The in vitro plants of O. vulgare ssp. hirtum described in this study provided a qualitatively and quantitatively good source of essential oils that have a chemical profile comparable to that of the control mother plants with carvacrol as the main compound.

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Acknowledgements

The Authors are grateful to the Italian “Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca Scientifica” for financial support. Acknowledgements also to Prof. M. Giovannetti (Università, Pisa) for donating us Glomus viscosum T.H. Nicolson, strain A6. Mr. Martin Baxter is acknowledged for technical assistance in preparing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Vegetali, Università, Via Amendola 165A, Bari, 70125, Italy

    Irene Morone-Fortunato

  2. Dipartimento Farmaco-Chimico, Università, Via Orabona 4, Bari, 70125, Italy

    Pinarosa Avato

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  1. Irene Morone-Fortunato
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  2. Pinarosa Avato
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Correspondence to Pinarosa Avato.

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Morone-Fortunato, I., Avato, P. Plant development and synthesis of essential oils in micropropagated and mycorrhiza inoculated plants of Origanum vulgare L. ssp. hirtum (Link) Ietswaart . Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 93, 139–149 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-008-9353-5

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