Jump to content
The Corroboree
Darklight

Lagochilus inebrians aseptic seed germination

Recommended Posts

Lagothn1.JPG

Lagothn2.JPG

Lagothn3.JPG

The three images above are of some fully ID'd Lagochilus inebrians seed we germinated in the TC labs here. We're hoping they survive, replicate and that we have more in a few weeks

So far we have three individuals: my personal prejudice leans towards replicating from at least 20 parent plants so there is some kind of genetic stability available for others to work on breeding programs for genetic diversity

Please know that there is no priority on producing sale plants for some time- atm our main priority is that the original overseas benefactor of the seed has access to as many plants as he needs and is able to handle, and subsequent to that, as many registered botanical gardens have access to plants.

First and foremost this is a conservation project! Add to that though that the plant doesn't yet seem to be interesting from a recreational consumption point oof view, and seems so far to only have historical and conservation value, in addition to its intrinsic right to exist

But all this is in the pipeline: we're only at the first stage- germination. We still have to get through deflasking backup stock, and replication and rooting for proliferation. Just thought we'd let you know where we're up to smile.gif

[ 04. April 2005, 09:33: Message edited by: Darklight ]

Edited by planthelper
added tags
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well done DL :cool:

So some peeps want to know what other endagered plants you're working with atm?

Do tell :D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

bannana.gifparty.gifbannana.gifparty.gifbannana.gifparty.gif

Well done!!! They are soooo cute

[ 05. April 2005, 01:53: Message edited by: Torsten ]

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

what a lovely sight,

you did very well DL,

very good news, indeed...

:)

btw, lago worxs.

:D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Top stuff. Incredibly special work. Preservation by replication and diverse holders of this unique genetic material is the best way to ensure its survival for generations to come! :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
mescalito:

So some peeps want to know what other endagered plants you're working with atm?

Do tell  

It's only too true that if you work with too many species and media at once, you get a confused jumble. I try to keep numbers to a minimum or I'm wasting time setting up small experiments all over the place and end up with statistically irrelevant numbers cos of small sample sizes.

What I'm working with as public projects atm are Griffonia simplicifolia, Mammillaria craigii, Acacia phlebophylla, and Lagochilus of course. Stages of completion vary, no sale plants will be available for some time with these as we're either building up numbers or working on deflasking and cultivation.

Which wouldn't have been possible without you mesc, you're the Aircon God fer sure! With your valuable advice we solved the yucky aircon contam prob that was heading to reduce everything to mush!

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

EDit - Irrelivant post.

Looks great man! keep it up!

[ 06. April 2005, 13:13: Message edited by: Amulte ]

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Appart from buying stuff from SAB, what can one do to support such projects. Obviously $$$$ are crutial but how does a community member know what work is on the 'burners'and which projects need time or expertise to complete.....or is this the intelectual property of SAB.

Can understand if it is but I'm sure there are a few around that could help directly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Make your home a home for plants. Grow. Grow everything you can.

If your home is set up to handle plants, people can send you plants to keep a certain strain or species propagated in different situations.

Donate money if you can, or equipment. But the most important donation is knowledge. Learn everything you can. Then teach it to others.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i think he means how do we know how to help...

i dont think we can help a real lot... its one of those things where you have to do it... and they are... and theres alot of waiting...

but yeah definately by stuff from SAB... its pretty easy to do too

heh heh

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

may I just say that even though I am involved in the Lago project overall (as well as a couple of other people), Darklight did the propagation thing 100% off her own bat. Much of what happens in this community is done by dedicated individuals and has little to do with the various businesses. As it stands the genetic resource of Lagochilus inebrians has been provided to the Australian Ethnobotanical Conservation Association and various members are doing their bit to ensure the survival of this species via a variety of ways. Increasing plant numbers and keeping ex situ back up seed stock will be crucial to the survival, and darklight's excellent work has just catapulted these goals ahead by leaps and bounds.

One of the most important ways to show support for such projects is to support the association.

And obviously, as already mentioned in previous posts, make sure you know where your ethnobot dollars go and how they are used. Some businesses do a lot of research or give back to the community some other way and it is important to support these. And I don't just mean SAB.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Torsten:

...has just catapulted these goals ahead by leaps and bounds...

Um, maybe, if it works. Aspetic germination is just the first step, like I said, there is a ways to go yet
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Spot on smogs! Just want to do something for our community and others like it. But rather than re-invent the wheel (start my own work on this plant for eg), perhaps assist on current projects with the few skills and skinny wallet I posses.

The wiki is a great start and I will add to it soon with my experiences, but I guess I would like a more of a 'real time' involvement.

Sorry to hijack.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Bongchitis:

 But rather than re-invent the wheel (start my own work on this plant for eg)...Sorry to hijack.

Don't worry about the hijack :)

There's not much I can think of that could help with TC atm, unless you have some ideas on how to switch off or over-ride the PAL part of the shikimic acid metabolic pathway ( see thread on trans-cinammic acid pathway ) as it's my current theory as to why some alkaloid bearing spp don't set roots in TC.

But we aren't even at that stage yet with Lago, we're just hoping to get there. Your offer of assistance is greatly appreciated but unfortunately, here at least, we're not in a position to make use of your high level skills in other fields.

If you're looking for solid projects to start on, think about what it is you feel passionate about, and what you wish was going on, then get systematic about its undertaking. And don't get downcast if it becomes hard work, or even redundant ( about 1/2 the new conservation work I take on becomes redundant during its lifetime, for a whole raft of reasons ). Or changes direction or emphasis.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

lagothn6.JPG

lagothn7.JPG

lagothn8.JPG

Here are the same seedlings as those posted above, at a later stage of development

The pics are pretty old now. And we have quite a few more seedlings in TC.

Admittedly none of the Lagos we have tried to perform standard axillary proliferation techniques on have fared well- none are dead, they just weren't happy in the media they were in. So we switched it. They're stable now and we think we know what to do next, though the results remain to be seen :)

We do have some whole plantlets in TC that we won't subculture and we'll have a good go at deflasking those when the weather warms up- these are aspectically germinated only, and if they make it through that then they'll be a seed bank for future populations

The aim here is to get as many individuals from as many individual parent plants out there to maintain diversity via future generation seedstock- and to return them to the bloke who has been working so hard to preserve the species in situ.

If we can't get that far this time, next best thing is to get a shitload of viable seed from the plants we do have, propagate via conventional means, and shore up diversity that way. Its a longer process with the same outcome

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Torsten:

One of the most important ways to show support for such projects is to support the association.

And obviously, as already mentioned in previous posts, make sure you know where your ethnobot dollars go and how they are used. Some businesses do a lot of research or give back to the community some other way and it is important to support these. And I don't just mean SAB.

Is this (Australian Ethnobotanical Conservation Association) a registered charity? In recent times I've been literally mugged by organisations such as greenpeace and they've been saying you get tax deductions if you donate to registered charities. Although I'd rather see anything I make over the tax free threshold go to environmental organisations rather than the current oppressive government I'd much rather be supporting ethnobotany. It is getting very close to the end of financial year so this is something that may be of interest to others. Also what are some of these other organisations?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

All associations are non-profit. ie, no individual or entity is allowed to benefit financially from any money raised. However, we do not have tax exempt status and probably won't apply for it either because we run at a negative budget.

Becoming tax deductible is a totally different matter again and we have no intentions at this stage to jump through those hoops.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Looks very healthy! Great Pics! I only managed to germinate one seed. I´m not sure if the seedling will survive as it is very fragile. But i´m optimistic.

Best Regards

th_f40_HPIM2608.JPG

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

more light

less humidity

ill post pics of mine soon

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A rat ate the one I put out to deflask. About 1/2way through the hardening off process too, so we'll never know if the deflasking protocol worked :(

The ones in meristem culture are behaving very oddly, they def don't like having their roots removed! The rot, or wilting is still apparant in most after a couple of subcultures, though some branching appears to be trying to take place to compensate. I've moved them to a new media with the hope of having some auxin elicited from it- so far that looks like the problem

Aseptic germination looks the way to go, and we'll be doing that in time for Spring, when temps and photoperiod are more appropriate

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Update: I had combined my different parent plants into one group for convenience, and just kept turning them over in culture for interest's sake. Sent some cultures off to a research institute recently for in-vivo archiving and was concerned that maybe the genetic base was too narrow- potentially and statistically there would only be one parent plant left in the batch

I had seed left over from the original batch and sowed them again aseptically ( in tissue culture ). Only one partial germination after +3 months, and it failed. I was starting to get concerned- these seed are around ten year old at least

Removed the seed coat from all of them in the flow hood, and re-sowed in media. Out of the seventeen remaining seed I have six partial germinations at +5 days seed coat removal. So they retain viability even after all this time

This has good implications for any conservation projects if any crop up in the future. And I'm hoping at least one plant survives to full germination so it can be replicated and added to the other plant/s in the collection for re-establishing at least some genetic diversity in the future

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Here are the babies, pics yesterday. Might be a few more coming on

Hard to get pics of the tiny little tackers with all that condensation on the glass, so they're a bit fuzzy

post-12-0-90587000-1336359448_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-83380100-1336359450_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-87469700-1336359454_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-79101400-1336359456_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-90587000-1336359448_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-83380100-1336359450_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-87469700-1336359454_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-79101400-1336359456_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-90587000-1336359448_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-83380100-1336359450_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-87469700-1336359454_thumb.jpg

post-12-0-79101400-1336359456_thumb.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

OMG! OMG! OMG! I'm squealing like a schoolgirl up here!

~ These pics are 'porn' for plant lovers! Thank you so much people for the share! Great day indeed!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

seed are around ten year old at least

Removed the seed coat from all of them in the flow hood, and re-sowed in media. Out of the seventeen remaining seed I have six partial germinations at +5 days seed coat removal. So they retain viability even after all this time

 

this is very good new info, thank you dl.

i will try this methode (now my old lago seeds get suddenly importance again, hehehe), i guess the seeds were not cold stratificated, and coat removal made this step un necessary.

can you share a quick hint of how you remove the seed coat?

Edited by planthelper

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×