Assessment of clonal fidelity in micropropagated plantlets of Rauwolfia serpentina Benth. Ex. Kurz.

Micropropagation procedure has been developed for true-to-type of Rauwolfia serpentina. The protocol involved growth and proliferation of shoot tips and nodal segments on MS medium containing BAP alone or in combination with NAA. Shoot apices were found to be superior (87.50%) as compared to nodal cuttings (71.89%) for multiple shoot formation. Response on MS medium supplemented with BAP (3.0 mg/l) + NAA (0.5 mg/l) was found to be better (88.78%). The lowest percentage (70.48%) of multiple shoots from shoot apices was found on MS medium supplemented with 1.5 mg/l BAP + 0.5 mg/l NAA. Rooting was achieved on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l IAA and IBA each. Hardening of plantlets and in 1: 1 mixture of sterilized sand and soil under natural conditions. The genetic fidelity of regenerated plantlets were assessed using 23 primers. The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profile from regenerated plants were monomorphic (98.80%) with thatof the mother plants, which confirmsthe geneticstability among theclones. Thus, this protocolcould beusefulfor conservation and production of genetically identical and stable plants for commercial purpose.