Surface sterilization method for reducing microbial contamination in Solanum melongena anther explants for In vitro culture.

Surface sterilization is a crucial step in obtaining healthy and viable explants for tissue culture. Majority of the surface contaminants can be removed by sterilizing the surface with an appropriate method, whether physical or chemical. The objective of present study was to find out an efficient way to disinfect Solanum melongena anther explants. For this purpose, bud anthers were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium, after exposing them to various sterilizing agents. The results revealed that highest explant survival was achieved by performing surface sterilization with mercuric chloride and sodium hypochlorite.