3 Propagation of Ornamental Plants Vol. 16, № 1, 2016: 3-8 Received: November 5, 2015 Accepted: January 15, 2016 INTRODUCTION Light is an important factor in regulating develop- ment during plant tissue culture (PTC) (Reuveni and Evenor 2007, Godo et al. 2011). Fluorescent lamps (FLs) have been used as the main source of lighting in PTC (Dewir et al. 2005). However, power consumption in FLs use is expensive and produces a wide range of wavelengths (350-750 nm) unnecessary for growth and morphogenesis on in vitro plants (Gupta and Jatothu 2013). Light emitting diodes (LEDs) constitute an alternative for lighting culture rooms in commercial micropropagation of plants (Tamulaitis et al. 2005, Yeh and Chung 2009). Among the advantages offered by LEDs over FLs are durability, low power consumption, speciic wavelength, smaller size, and negligible heat production (Fang and Jao 2000). The main disadvantage with this type of light source is the cost of the LEDs ixtures. However, high upfront costs can be minimized by the amount of electricity saved. Also, upfront costs are falling rapidly with the advancement of LED’s technology (Gupta and Jatothu 2013). Several studies have shown positive effects of LEDs during in vitro culture of different species such as Fragaria × ananassa (Nhut et al. 2003, Hung et al. 2015), Musa spp. (Waman et al. 2015), Solanum tuberosum (Jao and Fang 2004), Chrysanthemum (Kim et al. 2004, Kurilčik et al. 2008), Vitis riparia × V. vinifera (Poudel et al. 2008), Brassica napus (Li et al. 2013), Populus euroamericana (Kwon et al. 2015), among others. However, the response in LED systems depends on the wavelength to which they are exposed and varies according to the species (Dewir et al. 2005). Anthurium (Anthurium andreanum Lind.) is a tropi- cal species native to Central and South America with worldwide economic importance as an ornamental plant and cut lower (Dufour and Guérin 2003, Gantait et al. LIGHT EMITTING DIODES IMPROVE IN VITRO SHOOT MULTIPLICATION AND GROWTH OF ANTHURIUM ANDREANUM LIND. Eduardo Martínez-Estrada 1 , José Humberto Caamal-Velázquez 2 , Victorino Morales-Ramos 1 , and Jericó Jabín Bello-Bello 1 * 1 Postgraduate College-Campus Córdoba, km. 348 Córdoba-Veracruz Federal Highway, 94946, Amatlán de los Reyes, State of Veracruz, México, *Fax: + 52 (271) 716 60 00 *E-mail: jericobello@gmail.com, 2 Postgraduate College-Campus Campeche, km. 17.5 Haltunchén-Edzná Highway, 24450, Champotón, State of Campeche, México Abstract The use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) is important in commercial micropropagation of plants due to the economic and biological beneits they confer relative to lighting systems with luorescent lamps. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of LEDs on in vitro shoot multiplication and growth of Anthurium andreanum. For shoot multiplication, nodal segments of the Rosa cultivar were used as explants and grown in Murashige and Skoog culture medium supplemented with 2 mg l -1 of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). To evaluate in vitro rooting and growth, one-cm-long adventitious shoots were cultured in Murashige and Skoog medium without growth regulators. All explants were exposed to lighting with luorescent lamps (545-610 nm), white LEDs (460 and 560 nm), red LEDs (660 nm), blue LEDs (460 nm), and the combination of blue + red LEDs (460 and 660 nm) at the same photosynthetic photon lux density (25 µmol m -2 s -1 ). After 60 days of culture, the number and length of adventitious shoots were determined. For rooting and shoot growth, the length, number of leaves, rooted shoots, number of roots, and chlorophyll content were evaluated on the sixtieth day. The results showed signiicant differences during in vitro shoot multiplication and growth. The highest number of adventitious shoots was obtained in blue + red LEDs, while the greatest growth and chlorophyll content was obtained in blue LEDs. These results suggest that LEDs use could be an option for improving shoot multiplication and growth of A. andraeanum plantlets in vitro. Key words: chlorophyll, light quality, micropropagation