Meta-topolin: an alternative for the prevention of oxidative stress in sugarcane micropropagation

ABSTRACT The influence of two aromatic cytokinins (CKs), 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and meta-topolin (mT), on in vitro propagation and redox metabolism of sugarcane (Saccharum spp., variety RB98710) was investigated. Plants were cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with mT (5 µmol.L-1) or BAP (5 or 6.66 µmol.L-1) for 40 days. The use of mT provided an increase in the multiplication rate and stem length of plants and shoots when compared to BAP. Shoots generated from the mT treatment presented low malondialdehyde (MDA) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, although they had higher hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content. Thus, the H2O2 did not act as a stress marker, but it is related to plant growth and development processes.