Study of Plant Regeneration by Tissue Culture from Immature Embryos of the Lacquer Tree, Toxicodendron vernicifluum

Resin and sap of lacquer trees (Toxicodendron vernicifluum) are called “Urushi”. Urushi has been used for paints or adhesives since the Jomon period in Japan. Since it is prospective that demand for domestic Urushi for preservation of cultural property will increase, the mass production of seedlings of T. vernicifluum of high quality is important. We initially cultured immature zygotic embryos from immature fruits on Woody Plant Medium (WPM) containing 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), α -naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) or indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) as an auxin supplemented with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Somatic embryos were induced directly from immature zygotic embryos and secondary somatic embryos were induced from somatic embryos. Some secondary somatic embryos formed roots and hypocotyls. Finally, we transferred the secondary somatic embryo-derived plantlets to soil in pots and the plantlets continued to grow. Thus, we developed a tissue culture system for plant regeneration for the propagation of T. vernicifluum.