Cloning of Cecropia glaziovii through vegetative micropropagation

Many higher plants accumulate organic substances that can be extracted in economically viable quantities, serving as raw materials with various scientific, technological, and commercial applications. These natural substances are used directly or indirectly by a large number of industries as sources of oil, resins, tannins, saponins, rubber, gums, waxes, dyes, and pharmaceuticals. The most widespread use of vegetative micropropagation is the rapid clonal propagation of plants with elite genotypes. The technique is extremely useful for obtaining clones, in which the plants produced are intended to have the same characteristics as the mother plant. This technique guarantees uniform offspring that could not be obtained by seed cultivation in sexually reproducing plants, due to the risk of finding too much variability among the offspring. The objective of this methodology is to produce large quantities of clones that are genetically stable in relation to certain active ingredients.

Autorentext

Dr. Marcos Alves has a degree in Biological Sciences and a master's and doctorate in Plant Biology from UNICAMP. He is currently a researcher and coordinator of the Agrotechnology Division at CPQBA-UNICAMP. Responsible for the plant tissue culture laboratory, he has been developing work in the area of multiplication and cloning of medicinal plants.