Isolation of Callus Lines of Celosia Cristata L. with Variation in Betalain Content

The present paper reports the isolation of three callus lines of cockscomb (Celosia cristata L.) varying in colour viz. magenta, red and dark-red. The calli were induced from shoot-tip explants harvested from 4, 8 and 12 days old seedlings. NAA or 2, 4-D could induce callusing only in presence of cytokinins like BAPand kinetin. The total betalain content of dark-red callus was found to be about twice than that of magenta and red coloured callus. Similarly, the content of constituent pigments viz. amaranthine, betanin and betaxanthin was also found to be more than twice in dark-red callus as compared to magenta and red callus. Similarly, the betanin content in red coloured callus was fifty percent higher than that of magenta coloured callus. In contrast to this the content of betalamic acid was found to be almost equal in the three callus lines.