Amutha, S., Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620 024, Tamilnadu, India, Department of Virology, ARO Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Muruganantham, M., Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620 024, Tamilnadu, India
Ganapathi, A., Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620 024, Tamilnadu, India

Prolific shoot regeneration was achieved in mungbean Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek from 3-d-old in vitro cotyledonary node and hypocotyl explants from seedlings derived from mature seeds on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with thidiazuron (TDZ) (0.9 μM). An initial exposure to TDZ for 20 d and three successive transfers to fresh medium with reduced thidiazuron levels (0.09 μM) resulted in the regeneration of 104 shoots/explant from the cotyledon and 30 shoots/explant from the hypocotyl. Thidiazuron-associated abnormalities such as short compact shoots, fasciation and leaf growth in the form of rosettes were observed in shoots regenerated from hypocotyl explants. Both axillary and adventitious shoot formation from the explants were confirmed by histology. Through repetitive cycles of regeneration in the presence of TDZ, the number of shoots that could be obtained from the two explant classes within 80 d was significantly higher than with previous reports in mungbean. © 2006 Society for In Vitro Biology.