Agrobacterium rhizogenes mediated hairy root induction in endangered Berberis aristata DC

An efficient protocol for hairy root induction in Berberis aristata DC. was established using two different strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes, MTCC 532 and 2364 from IMTECH (Institute of Microbial Technology), Chandigarh, India. The strain 532 was more effective than strain 2364 in hairy root induction and in vitro grown callus (61.11 +/- 1.60 % transformation frequency) was found to be suitable explant in comparison to leaves (42.59 +/- 0.92 % transformation frequency) and nodal segments (34.25 +/- 0.92 % transformation frequency) of in vitro grown microshoots for hairy root induction. The presence of rol A and rol B genes during amplification confirmed the transgenic nature of hairy roots and transformed callus. Transformation frequency of callus was further enhanced (from 61.11 +/- 1.60 % to 72.22 +/- 1.60 %; when infection time was 1 h) by using acetosyringone (100 mu M) during co-cultivation period (48 h) on semisolid MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium. In conclusion, this study describes the protocol for hairy root induction which could further be useful for the production of berberin and may reduce the overharvesting of this endangered species from its natural habitat.