Evaluation of biomass production of stevia rebaudiana bertoni using classical in vitro culture and temporary immersion bioreactor system

In vitro cultures can provide a sufficient quantity of high-quality uniform biomass under controlled conditions. The aim of this study was to develop an efficient micropropagation system for biomass production from S. rebaudiana. In vitro shoot proliferation of S. rebaudiana was compared in classical agar-gelled solid culture medium (SM) and the Plantform temporary immersion bioreactor system (TIS). Murashige and Skoog 1962 (MS) medium was used in both culture systems and was supplemented with 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 mg/L 6-Benzyladenine (BA). The maximum biomass production (1396.72 +/- 54.03 mg) was recorded using the TIS in the variant with a concentration of 0.2 mg/L BA. The lowest biomass production (229.96 +/- 29.33 mg) was obtained on MS solid culture media without BA. It is noteworthy that the water content tended to decrease in TIS compared to SM. In vitro-grown plantlets were screened for possible genetic differences using Start Codon Targeted (SCoT). The PCR amplification products were monomorphic in micropropagated plants and their mother plant, thus proving the genetic fidelity and uniformity of the plants grown in vitro for biomass production.