Effect of β-lactam antibiotics on plant regeneration in carrot protoplast cultures

Protoplasts of three carrot cultivars were isolated from in vitro-grown plantlets by overnight incubation in an enzyme mixture composed of 1% (w/v) cellulase Onozuka R-10 and 0.1% (w/v) pectolyase Y-23. After cell immobilization in modified thin alginate layers, three types of β-lactam antibiotics (cefotaxime, carbenicillin, or timentin) at five different concentrations (100, 200, 300, 400, or 500 mg L(−1)) were added to the culture medium. In 20-d-old cultures, a different number of cell colonies had formed and varied on average from 27 to 56% in carbenicillin- and cefotaxime-containing media, respectively. Supplementation of the culture media with antibiotics at concentrations higher than 100 mg L(−1) resulted in a decrease in plating efficiency in comparison with the controls. However, from all antibiotic treatments, except carbenicillin at concentrations of 400–500 mg L(−1), efficient plant regeneration occurred. For this reason, we believe that cefotaxime and timentin in the concentrations analyzed here may be used in complex in vitro procedures or valuable carrot cultures as a prophylactic agent for prevention against occasional contaminations.