title: Is in vitro micrografting a possible valid alternative to traditional micropropagation in Cactaceae? Pelecyphora aselliformis as a case study.
abstract: Several taxa of Cactaceae are endangered by overcollection for commercial purposes, and most of the family is included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES). Micropropagation may play a key role to keep the pressure off wild populations and contribute to ex situ conservation of endangered taxa. One of the limits of micropropagation is the species-specific requirement of plant regulators for each taxon and sometimes even for different genotypes. With the micrografting technique the rootstock directly provides the scion with the necessary hormonal requirements. In this paper we present data on in vitro grafting of Pelecyphora aselliformis Ehrenberg, an Appendix I CITES listed species critically endangered and sought after by the horticultural trade, on micropropagated Opuntia ficus-indica Miller. Apical and sub-apical scions of P. aselliformis were used to perform micrografting with a successful rate of 97 and 81 % respectively. Survival rate after ex vivo transfer was 85 %. We hypothesize that this method could be applied to other endangered, slow growing taxa of Cactaceae thus contributing to the conservation of this endangered family.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR), Research Division of Palermo, National Research Council (CNR), Corso Calatafimi 414, 90129 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Ornella
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Badalamenti
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR), Research Division of Palermo, National Research Council (CNR), Corso Calatafimi 414, 90129 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carra
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science and Technology (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oddo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR), Research Division of Palermo, National Research Council (CNR), Corso Calatafimi 414, 90129 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7700-9527
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Carimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science and Technology (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sajeva
keywords: CITES; Ex situ conservation; In vitro grafting; Micropropagation; Succulent plants; Tissue culture