Application of nurse culture for plant regeneration from protoplasts of Lilium japonicum Thunb.

The regeneration of lily protoplasts isolated from suspension cells of Lilium japonicum was achieved by using the nurse culture method. The protoplasts divided only under the nurse culture application. The divided protoplasts grew into colonies and developed into visible calluses on a medium containing picloram. After the calluses were transferred to a hormone-free medium, plantlets formed from them. The highest frequency of plant regeneration was obtained on a medium containing 1 mu M gibberellin 4 (GA(4)). The cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS) method was used to confirm that the regenerants were not plants that had escaped from nurse cells. We were able to transplant the plantlets to soil in pots without acclimatization, and they showed normal growth.