576 PB 053 METHODS TO MAXIMIZE AND MINIMIZE SEGREGATION OF CHIMERAL PEAR (PYRUS SPP) IN VITRO

Variegated `Louise Bonne' (LB) pear is a periclinal chimera in which the LIII layer is albino. Chimeral shoots propagated in vitro segregate spontaneously into green, albino, pale, or rearranged chimeral types, making them difficult to maintain in culture. We investigated the role of growth regulators on chimeral stability and destability to find a combination that would maintain the chimera through repeated subcultures. 70 to 90% of shoots remained chimeral on Lepoivre (LP) medium supplemented with 8 μM BA or less. Only 36 to 58% of shoots grown at concentrations greater than 8 μM were stable. Shoots grown on LP with thidiazuron (TDZ) were very unstable (4 to 44%). NAA had no significant effect on chimeral stability. While shoots multiplied better on LP, the chimeral pattern was more obvious on MS, making it a good screening medium. Selection and subculturing chimeral shoots on a good medium (LP with 2 to 4 μM BA) increased the percentage of chimeral shoots from 26% at the 4th subculture to 84% at the 27th subculture.