DYCKIA DISTACHYA HASSLER: AN ENDANGERED BROMELIAD MICROPROPAGATION BY SEED GERMINATION AND TISSUE CULTURE

The Atlantic Forest has a rich biological diversity and elevated levels of endemism, in which bromeliads are frequent but endangered. Tissue culture techniques comprises efficient tools to promote mass propagation of elite individuals for commercial aims, or the conservation of natural populations threatened with extinction. The present study evaluated aspects of seed-based Dyckia distachya micropropagation. A high rate of in vitro regeneration (78.93 shoots per gram) was obtained in response to liquid MS culture medium supplemented with 2 mM of 6-Benzylaminopurine (BA) after 120 days in culture or supplemented with 2 μM of 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 4 μM of BA, and 6 μM of Paclobutrazol (133.58 shoots per explant) after 142 days in culture. All shoots were grown until 1.5 cm long before acclimatization in ex-vitro conditions with 92.6% survival. D. distachya is responsive to applying tissue culture techniques for mass propagation and conservation purposes. Using seeds as initial explants allows the maintenance of the genetic diversity observed in the natural populations. Mass regeneration is a promising technique for efficiently conserving this endangered bromeliad.