S04 - Session P1 - New Tools I - Effect of silver nanoparticles on the micropropagation of two apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.).cultivars

Authors: Lorenzo Burgos *, Cristian Pérez-Caselles, Nuria Alburquerque, Inmaculada Sánchez-Balibrea

Apricot is one of the main species of the genus Prunus . Effective protocols for in vitro propagation of apricot in semisolid medium have been reported. Temporary immersion systems (TIS) are a valid method for large scale micropropagation in liquid medium but have never been reported before for the micropropagation of apricots. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been described as antimicrobial agents but frequently they have a dose-dependent phytotoxic effect. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the effects of AgNPs in micropropagation and plant quality when they are added to culture medium. This work aims to study the effect of silver nanoparticles on the micropropagation of two apricot cultivars in different in vitro cultivation systems (traditional semi-solid medium and TIS). AgNPs have been added to shoot multiplication medium at different concentrations (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg/L) in both culture systems. After four weeks of culture, micropropagation rates and shoot quality were measured. High concentrations of AgNPs decrease shoot quality in both culture systems and cultivars. On the other hand, micropropagation is culture-system and genotype dependent. In semi-solid medium high concentrations of AgNPs decreased micropropagation, even causing the death of shoots. However, TIS greatly improved micropropagation rates but this improvement depended on the cultivar. In 'Canino' an increase in the proliferation rate was observed with the increase in AgNPs concentration but this effect was not so clear in 'Mirlo Rojo'.