International Journal of Biotech Trends and Technology (IJBTT) – Volume 8 Issue 1 - Jan to March 2018 ISSN: 2249-0183 http://www.ijbttjournal.org Page 1 In Vitro Micro Tuber Formation in Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.): is there any Relation between Methyl Jasmonate, Sugars, and Explants? Gülsün E. Vural 1 , Tugce Ozsan 1 , Volkan Gozen 2 , Ahmet N. Onus 1* 1 Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey 2 Bati Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute, Antalya, Turkey Abstract Studies on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) plants have been carried out to plant tissue culture laboratories because of the disease and virulent free seed tubers in field conditions. Since generative production in commercial potato production is not economically massive, production is made more economically with tubers. Jasmonic acid (JA) and its related compounds are newly recognized plant growth regulators and they are known to have effects on many physiological processes. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effects of methyl jasmonate and sucrose on micro tuber formation in potato micropropagation. To serve the purpose the relationships between twelve media combinations (including control medium), varying concentrations of sucrose (3, 6 and 9 %) either alone or in combination with 1.0 ppm or 2.0 ppm methyl jasmonate were investigated. Three different plant parts such as node, shoot eye and primordial tissue wereused as explant sources. Nitsch&Nitsch was used as the basic nutrient medium and plant growth regulators that used in media were constant at 2.5 mg/L BAP + 0.5 mg/L NAA except for control medium. Obtained micro tubers, plantlets and callus formations were recorded and analyzed. Results revealed that, when methyl jasmonate used at 1.0 ppm concentration in media, it had a positive effect on micro tuber formation and can be recommended to use commercially in mass production. Keywords — Solanum tuberosumL., micro tuber, methyl jasmonate, sucrose, in vitro I. INTRODUCTION Thanks to the high nutritional value of the potato plant (Solanum tuberosum L.) belonging to Solanaceae family, it is cultivated and consumed in many countries. The total potato production was 376.8 million tonnes (19.2 million ha) in the world [1]. It is tolerant in terms of climatic conditions and is a perennial temperate climatic plant. It’s tubers and vegetative parts are damaged at temperatures of 0 °C and below. The production of potato plant is usually made by asexual routes, especially with tubers and micro tubers. The uses of healthy and certified high quality seeds are very important for potato production and for high yield. The production of the thousands of genotypes in field conditions are more difficult than the production through tissue culture method sinceit is more costly, takes long time and largely dependents on climate. Tissue culture methods are utilized in rapid propagation and breeding trials in addition to protecting gene sources in potato. These techniques are also used to obtain disease and virus free plant materials. In this way, irrespective of climatic conditions, diseases and virus-free starting materials can be obtained and studies with controlled conditions may bring increased yield with higher reproduction rate. Due to population growth in the world, the rapid growth of the industry, the increase in the construction and decrease in the amount of the fertile lands have led to search for different alternatives in seed production.Among these different alternatives, micro tuber production with tissue culture methods has gained importance in recent years. There are two simple and reliable methods among micropropagation techniques in potato. The first method is the development of offshoots by cultivating single or multiple nodes, called single or multiple node cultures, specially designated for artificial nutrient media. Single node explants have been usually used for potato micropropagation [2, 3]. The second and possibly more interesting micropropagation technique is producing micro tubers from potato offshoots. Micro tuber production is a commercial production method and suitable for large-scale cultivation with machines [4-6]. It has been reported that in vitromicro tuber development in potato is promoted by adding especially cytokine and high-level sucrose [6-8]. Micropropagation can be easily performed on potato and disease free clones under controlled environment can be obtainedin a short time [9-14]. Among the most important components of the nutrient medium used in plant tissue culture are sugars. Carbohydrates are at the forefront as a source of energy for plants to continue their