INVITRO STUDIES OF THE SUBMERGED ANGIOSPERM RUPPIA-MARITIMA - AUXIN AND CYTOKININ EFFECTS ON PLANT-GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Axenic tissue cultures of Ruppia maritima L. were established and propagated clonally in vitro from terminal rhizome segments collected from Tampa Bay, Florida, USA. Cultures were maintained in a base medium consisting of synthetic seawater supplemented with half-strength Murashige and Skoog salts and 1% sucrose at pH 5.6. The effects of five cytokins [6-furfurylaminopurine (kinetin), 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), 2-isopentyladenine (2iP), 6-(4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enylamino) purine (zeatin), and N-phenyl-N'-1,2,3-thidiazol-5-yl urea (thidiazuron)] and one auxin [naphthalene acetic acid (NAA)] on explant growth and development were investigated. Cytokinin additions resulted in a 3- to 4-fold increase in nodal production, branching, and biomass of R. maritima after 12 wk in culture. Cultures responded in a dose-dependent manner to 2iP but exhibited broad dose-response curves to kinetin, BAP, zeatin, and thidiazuron. NAA addition resulted in increased leaf and internodal lengths, but reduced the number of leaves per node and the rhizome biomass. The addition of NAA almost completely suppressed root growth in media without cytokinins and had an antagonistic effect on nodal production and branching in cytokinin-supplemented media.