Establishment of an in vitro culture protocol of Chuquiraga jussieui JF Gmel. from apical and axillary buds

In vitro establishment of endangered plant species conservation has become a major concern worldwide due to an increase in number of threatened species. Chuquiraga jussieui J. F. Gmel., an Andes mountains shrub is an ideal candidate for the process of conservation due to its state of extinction in Ecuador. Apical and axillary buds of Chuquiraga jussieui were cultivated for 30 days on 1/2 strength MS (MURASHIGE & SKOOG) [1] medium with different concentrations of BAP (0.1 to 2.0 mg/L), IBA (0.0 - 0.1 mg/L) and BRA (2.0 mg/L) in order to generate shoots. The obtained shoots were transferred to a 1/2 strength MS multiplication medium supplemented with BAP, IBA and BRA (5 mg/L) for 30 days. The best results for the in vitro multiplication of Chuquiraga jussieui were obtained using 1/2 strength MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L BAP and 2 mg/L BRA. The rooting process was achieved using IBA (2.0 - 6.0 mg/L) and BAP (0.0 - 0.1 mg/L) added to 1/2 strength MS medium. The micropropagation of Chuquiragua is critical to conservation efforts in Andean ecosystems due to the ecological role that it plays and our study of the multiplication protocol could overcome this problem.