ABSTRACT
Embryogenic tissues of Dioscorea bulbifera were cryopreserved using the encapsulation-dehydration technique. Genetic stability of plants regenerated from cryopreserved embryogenic tissues was assessed using molecular, biochemical and morphological analysis. The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of 60 cryopreserved-derived and 20 in vitro grown (control) plantlets showed that 10 primers produced 62 clear reproducible DNA fragment profiles. The amplification products were monomorphic for all the plantlets except one. A total of 4960 DNA fragments were obtained from this study showing no variation in RAPD profiles. The diosgenin content of cryopreserved-derived plants, analyzed using HPLC, was similar to that of control plants. Morphology and the ability to form microtuber were also found to be unaltered in cryopreserved embryo-derived plantlets. Thus, the D. bulbifera plants regenerated from cryopreserved embryogenic tissues were genetically stable at the molecular, biochemical and morphological levels.
