Seismic stress-mediated improvements in morphometry, foliar anatomy and biochemistry of in vitro grown plants of Gardenia jasminoides J. Ellis

ABSTRACT Gardenia jasminoides J. Ellis (Cape jasmine) is a horticultural plant. It is difficult to cultivate species due to pathogen sensitivity; hence, the demand for this species is gradually increasing. Thus, micropropagation would be a convenient tool to produce quality planting material, but the higher rate of mortality constitutes a constraint to large-scale propagation. Seismic stress is one of the abiotic stresses that promote growth, structural stability, and positively affect plantlet development. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of moderate seismic stress under in vitro conditions on the proliferation of shoots, biochemical attributes (photosynthetic pigments, carbohydrates constituents, free amino acids, etc.), and foliar anatomical stability of plantlets G. jasminoides. Results showed the superiority of moderate seismic stress (75 rpm for 10 min) in the improved proliferation of shoots, development of functional stomata, elimination of anatomical abnormalities, improved photosynthetic pigments and rooting efficiency, and finally increased survival percentage of plantlets after transplantation into field conditions. These findings provided evidence for the positive role of the optimised seismic stress in regulating the morpho-anatomical and biochemical traits in G. jasminoides which is an indication of the development of diverse adaptive strategies by the micropropagated plantlets to abiotic stress.