Alfalfa is one of the most frequently studied species from the production of tissue culture-derived embryos point of view. In this study, five alfalfa cultivars were analyzed with reference to their ability to regenerate plants from protoplast cultures via somatic embryogenesis. Plant regeneration from leaf-derived protoplasts isolated from the cultivar Rangelander was achieved using a protocol defined for alfalfa cell suspension-derived embryogenesis. Because of its high efficiency, this procedure is recommended for protoplast electroporation-mediated genetic transformation of alfalfa.
plant biotechnology; in vitro culture; morphogenesis; forage legume