Selection of regenerative genotypes from Iranian alfalfa cultivars

The objectives of this work were to evaluate in vitro response of Iranian alfalfa cultivars and select high regenerative genotypes. Somatic embryogenesis response of leaf and petiole explants from five alfalfa cultivars and landraces was studied using six regeneration protocols. Cultivars and landraces exhibited protocol, and explant-specific response and somatic embryo formation occurred only using two protocols. Callus and embryogenic responses showed variation between and within cultivars. The frequency of embryogenesis and number of embryos per callus were influenced by genotype and explant interaction. There was no significant difference between leaves and petioles with respect to embryogenesis, but the number of embryos produced by leaves was significantly greater than petioles. The embryogenic genotypes ranged from 0 to 18.5% in the studied cultivars. Fourteen genotypes from a total of 133 were produced somatic embryos. Three of them, Km-27, Kk-14 and Syn-18 exhibited high capability of regeneration. The efficiency of embryo conversion was significantly affected by embryo conversion medium used. On average, 62% of embryos of selected genotypes produced both root and shoot on MMS medium.