• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.50
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• pp.19-26
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• 2023

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) is an economically important plant because of it is rich in saponins. It is mainly cultivated in Asia, including Korea and China. Since ginseng requires a long breeding period due to juvenility, homozygote production techniques, such as anther culture, must be urgently established. In the present study, callus induction and embryogenesis through anther culture were observed in P. ginseng. Murashige and Skoog medium was used as the basal medium suitable for callus induction. When the medium was supplemented with 3% sucrose, the callus induction rate was high and the callus size was large. Cold pretreatment did not significantly affect callus induction and embryogenesis. Embryogenesis was the most efficient when the embryo-formation medium was supplemented with 1.0 or 3.0 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Cultivar significantly affected anther culture efficiency. Specifically, 'Cheongseon' showed the highest embryo-formation efficiency, whereas no embryogenesis occurred in 'Sunun'. Ploidy assessment revealed the haploid status of the induced calli. Embryos derived from anther culture formed shoots upon transfer to germination medium, although no difference in ploidy was noted between the induced callus and control. Overall, the anther culture conditions established in the present study may contribute to the production of homozygous P. ginseng plants in the future.