Structural analysis of hairy and non transgenic roots of Luffa cylindrica

In this study, the hairy roots of the Luffacylindrica, a medicinal plant, were obtained following co cultivation of plant tissue with three different strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes named 1583, 9534 and A4. The results indicated an increase in biomass in the hairy roots induced by agrobacteria strains 15834 and 9534. After transplantation of transgenic and non-transgenic roots, the surface area of the layers of the epidermis, cortex and vascular tissues, as well as the size of the parenchymal cells were analyzed using ImageJ software.
Results showed that vascular system in transgenic roots, is more compact than in the control plant. So that the size of the xylems of hairy roots are higher than the control plant sample and is as following: 15834(393.5µm)>A4(324.6 µm)>9534(238.8 µm)>ctrl(175 µm). Moreover, pheloem region in the control plant is 2.6 times larger than 15834 produced hairy root which contain the highest surface of pheloem among transgenic species.
The surface of cortex layer, the thickness of the epidermis and the parenchymal cells were also 1.67, 1.154 and 1.8 times larger in the 15834 hairy roots than control roots respectively.
The results of this study confirmed the significant effect of Agrobactrium rhizogenes strains on increasing biomass. Therefore, by selecting the suitable strain, the amount of biomass due to enlargement of reservoir compartments such as parenchyma could be modified. Thus the amount of metabolites in the transgenic plant such as Luffacylindrica hairy roots could be optimized.