Bioscience Evidence 2024, Vol.14, No.6, 281-292 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 287 significantly outperforms gelled culture, increasing the number of axillary buds by six times (Dewir et al., 2023). The proliferation rate of axillary buds in the bioreactor system reached 45.9 buds per explant, compared to only 6.7 buds per explant in gelled culture (Figure 2). Additionally, inoculation with AMF (Gigaspora margarita and Gigaspora albida) significantly promoted the growth of micropropagated plantlets during acclimatization, improving leaf pigment content and biomass accumulation. AMF enhances water and nutrient absorption through symbiosis with the root system of dragon fruit, boosting the plant’s photosynthetic capacity and stress resistance (Dewir et al., 2023). These results indicate that combining liquid culture and AMF technology can achieve large-scale commercial micropropagation of dragon fruit while ensuring seedling quality, presenting broad application prospects. This study provides an efficient and feasible technological approach for the industrial-scale propagation of dragon fruit. 6.2 Performance in tropical regions: growth and productivity In tropical regions, dragon fruit exhibits vigorous growth and high yield characteristics (Abirami et al., 2021; Sahu et al., 2023). In a study conducted in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India, three dragon fruit species were identified based on morphological, biochemical, and molecular markers. Abirami et al. (2021) found significant genetic variation among different dragon fruit species, especially in fruit characteristics such as peel and pulp color, which is crucial for distinguishing different species. Moreover, molecular characterization using 14 ISSR primers revealed high genetic diversity among genotypes, allowing differentiation of species based on geographic origin and pulp color. Regarding biochemical traits, the study indicated that phenolic and flavonoid content was higher in the peel than in the pulp, suggesting a greater antioxidant potential in the peel. Significant differences were observed in total carotenoid and β-carotene content among the different genotypes, with DGF4 and DGF2 showing higher levels, indicating their high nutritional and industrial value (Abirami et al., 2021). Cluster analysis using ISSR markers grouped these dragon fruit genotypes into two clusters based on geographical location and pulp color. Overall, the analysis shows that these traits can effectively distinguish different dragon fruit species and have potential value for developing nutraceutical products, especially for addressing vitamin A deficiency in tropical populations. Future research can further utilize these genotypes to develop functional foods and nutritional supplements. Figure 2 Multiplication and growth of H. polyrhizus in gelled culture versus bioreactor culture after 8 weeks (Adopted from Dewir et al., 2023) Image caption: (a) shows the initial stage of the air-lift bioreactor system, while (b) and (c) display the growth of axillary buds in the liquid culture at 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. (d) illustrates the growth of axillary buds in the gelled culture after 8 weeks. In (e), the bioreactor culture (42.8 and 45.9 axillary buds) significantly outperformed the gelled culture (6.7 axillary buds) in terms of bud number, fresh weight, and length. This indicates that the liquid culture system is more suitable for the proliferation of dragon fruit axillary buds than gelled culture, demonstrating its potential to effectively increase yield and quality in large-scale micropropagation (Adapted from Dewir et al., 2023)
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