Multiple Shoot Regeneration from Shoot Tip and Nodal Explants of Rotala rotundifolia (Buch-Ham. ex Roxb) Koehne

Rotala rotundifolia (Buch-Ham. ex Roxb) Koehne, an aquatic plant belonging to the family Lythraceae, is used for the treatment of some diseases due to its medical and anti-microbial properties. This study presents multiple shoot regeneration from shoot tip and nodal explants of R. rotundifolia cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) nutrient medium containing 0.05-1.25 mg/L Kinetin (KIN) and 0.25 mg/L Gibberellic acid (GA 3 ) combinations for eight weeks. At the end of the second week, shoot formations began to be observed on the explants. High shoot regeneration frequencies were determined for both explants in the culture medium. The maximum number of shoots per explant was obtained from shoot tip (38.66) and nodal (30.77) explants cultured on MS medium containing 0.25 mg/L KIN + 0.25 mg/L GA 3 . Whereas the minimum number of shoots per explant was determined on MS medium containing 1.25 mg/L KIN + 0.25 mg/L GA 3 for both explant types. The highest shoot lengths for shoot tip (1.87 cm) and nodal (1.79 cm) explants were obtained on MS culture medium containing 0.75 mg/L KIN + 0.25 mg/L GA 3 and 0.50 mg/L KIN + 0.25 mg/L GA 3 , respectively. For in vitro rooting of the regenerated shoots, 2 cm long cut shoots were transferred to MS medium containing 0.25 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The rooted shoots were then successfully acclimatized to external conditions in the aquarium environment.